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AFGHANISTAN 



BY 



ANGUS flAMILTON 

F.R.G.S. 



Volume XVIII 




9xW 



J. B. MILLET COMPANY 

BOSTON AND TOKYO 



Copyright, 1910 
J. B, MILLET CO. 



THE • PLIMPTON ■ PRESS 

[\V ■ D ■ O] 
NORWOOD ■ MASS ■ U • S • A 



C:GI.A278335 



/ K r^ 



CONTENTS 

CHAFTER PAGE 

Editorial Note ix 

1 The Orenburg - Tashkent Railway ... 1 

*/'II The Khanate of Bokhara 25 

III The Province of Samarkand 36 

IV The District of Tashkent 42 

V The District of Merv . 46 

VI From Tashkent to Merv 54 

VII The Northern Border 75 

VIII The Murghab Valley Railway .... 101 

IX The Murghab Valley 122 

X Herat and the Western Border .... 137 

XI Kandahar 150 

XII Seistan 171 

XIII Provinces and Races ....... 198 

XIV Administration, Laws, and Revenue . . . 223 
XV Trade, Industries, and Products .... 247 

XVI The Army 262 

XVII Kabul; its Palaces and Court Life ... 283 

XVIII Kabul and its Bazaars . 312 

Index 319 



34 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

A Royal Wedding Frontispiece 

A City Scene in Afghanistan ........ 32 

Fortifying a Position in Afghanistan; Elephants Razing 

Out-Buildings 128 

The Citadel, Kandahar 160 t^ 

A Typical Watch-Tower 256 ^^ 

Tomb of Aimed Shah, Kandahar, Adjoining the Citadel . 288 ' 



vu 



EDITORIAL NOTE 

AFGHANISTAN may be called one of the cock- 
pits of the East, for it has seen more bloody 
battles since it came into the limelight of modern 
history than any other country of its size. Its early 
history is wrapped in mystery — its very name has been 
given to it by the outside world. The inhabitants are 
of various races, but the most of them call themselves 
Afghans. They are bold, hardy, warlike, and fond of 
freedom, restless, and turbulent, and much given to 
plunder. Both Russia and England have long had 
designs upon it, for it forms one of the gateways to 
the Indian possessions of the latter, and most of the 
bloodshed has been the result of both desiring to gain a 
foothold there. 

Afghanistan has been called the "buffer-state'* be- 
tween England's Indian Empire and Russia, and this 
volume brings the account of the movements of Russia 
towards it down to the present time. 

But the volume does more than this: it describes 
the natural features of this wild and wonderful country 
with its arid plains and mountain passes commanded by 
forbidding fortresses, gives an account of its industries 
and products, furnishes pictures of its palaces, its court 
hfe, and its bazaars; describes its administration - aii4 
its laws, and introduces the reader to the intimate 
details of a land which has hitherto been practically 
unknown. 

ix 



EDITORIAL NOTE 

To the student of world politics, this volume will have 
a special interest: Afghanistan is part of an arena in 
which some stirring game is always being played, and 
at any moment it may become the scene of events, which 
may change the current of the world's history. The stu- 
dent of social conditions and of social problems also will 
find much in it that is both interesting and valuable. 
The processes by which the scattered races may become 
a consolidated nation, or by which they may become 
still more disintegrated, offer a £eld of speculative and 
practical study which is unique. The author, Mr. Angus 
Hamilton, has spent many years in Oriental travel 
and in studying conditions in Asiatic countries. He is 
thoroughly familiar with the scanty, and out-of-the-way, 
literature dealing with this inaccessible land, and the 
reader benefits both by the first-hand information gained 
by travel and personal observations, and by the second- 
hand knowledge gained from other authors who have 
visited and described the country. 

Charles Welsh. 



AFGHANISTAN 

CHAPTER I 
THE ORENBURG-TASHKENT RAILWAY 



BY a coincidence of singular interest in Central 
Asian affairs the completion of the Oren- 
burg-Tashkent Railway occurred simulta- 
neously with the evacuation of Lhassa by the troops 
of the Tibetan Mission, the two events measur- 
ing in a manner the character of the policies pur- 
sued by the respective Governments of Great Britain 
and Russia in Mid-Asia. Moreover, if consideration 
be given to them and the relation of each to contem- 
porary affairs appreciated, it becomes no longer pos- 
sible to question the causes which have determined 
the superior position now held in Asia by Russia. 
If this situation were the result of some sudden 
cataclysm of nature by which Russia had been 
violently projected from her territories in Europe 
across the lone wastes of the Kirghiz steppe into and 
beyond the region of the Pamirs or over the desert 
sands of the Kara Kum to the southern valleys of 
the Murghab River, the mastery of Central Asia 
by Russia would be more comprehensible. But the 
forward advance of Russia to the borders of Per- 
sia, along the frontiers of Afghanistan to the north- 
eastern slopes of the Hindu Kush, has been gradual; 

1 



AFGHANISTAN 

and in order to secure sufficient momentum for her 
descent railways were needed; and, while the line so 
lately completed between Orenburg and Tashkent 
is a more material factor in the situation than hith- 
erto has been recognised, the laying of the permanent 
way between Samarkand and Termes, Askhabad 
and Meshed, approximately gauges the duration of 
the interval separating Russia from the day when she 
will have rounded off her position in Mid-Asia. No 
question of sentiment, no considerations of trade 
influenced the creation of railway communication 
between Orenburg and Tashkent, the construction 
of the Murghab Valley line or the extension of 
the Trans-Caspian system from Samarkand to Osh. 
Strategy, steely and calculating, required Mid- 
Russia to be linked with Mid-Asia, the irresistible 
expansion of empire following not so much the line 
of least resistance as the direction from which it 
would be placed in position for the next move. Con- 
tinents have been crossed, kingdoms annihilated, and 
provinces absorbed by Russia in her steady pro- 
gression towards the heart of Central Asia. 

Years have passed since the delimitation of the 
Russo-Afghan frontier and the definition of the 
Anglo-Russian spheres of influence in the Pamirs 
were made. In the interval, beginning with the 
acceptance of the findings of the Pamir Boundary 
Commission of 1896, Russia ostensibly has been 
engaged in evolving an especial position for herself 
in North China and providing railway communi- 
cation between Port Arthur, Vladivostock, and St. 

2 



RAILWAY 

Petersburg. In this direction, too, war has inter- 
vened, coming as the culminating stroke to the 
policy of bold aggression and niggardly compromise 
which distinguished the diplomatic activities of Rus- 
sia in Manchuria. Yet throughout these ten years 
the energies of Russia in Mid-Asia have not been 
dormant. Inaction ill becomes the Colossus of the 
North and schemes, which were en Vair in 1896, 
have been pushed to completion, others of equal 
enterprise taking their place. Roads now thread 
the high valleys of the Pamirs; forts crown the 
ranges and the military occupation of the region is 
established. Similarly, means of access between the 
interior of the Bokharan dominions and the Oxus 
have been formed; caravan routes have been con- 
verted into trunk roads and the services of the camel, 
as a mode of transport, have been supplemented by 
the waggons of the railway and military authorities. 
The great importance attaching to the Orenburg- 
Tashkent Railway and its especial significance at this 
moment will be appreciated more thoroughly when 
it is understood that hitherto the work of maintain- 
ing touch between European Russia and the military 
establishment of Russian Turkestan devolved upon 
a flotilla of fourteen steamers in the Caspian Sea 
— an uncertain, treacherous water at best — and 
the long, circuitous railway route via Moscow and 
the Caucasus. This necessitated a break of twenty 
hours for the sea-passage between Baku and Kras- 
novodsk before connection with the Trans-Caspian 
Railway could be secured. The military forces in 

3 



AFGHANISTAN 

Askhabad, Merv, Osh, and Tashkent — including, 
one might add, the whole region lying between the 
south-eastern slopes of the Pamirs, Chinese Turkes- 
tan, the Russo-Afghan, and the Russo-Persian fron- 
tiers — embracing the several Turkestan Army Corps, 
were dependent upon a single and interrupted line. 
Now, however, under the provision of this supple- 
mentary and more direct Orenburg-Tashkent route 
the entire military situation in Central Asia has been 
dislocated in favour of whatever future disposition 
Russia may see fit to adopt. All the great depots 
of Southern and Central Russia — Odessa, Sim- 
pheropol, Kieff, Kharkoff, and Moscow, in addition 
to the Caucasian bases as a possible reserve of rein- 
forcements — are placed henceforth in immediate 
contact with Merv and Tashkent, this latter place 
at once becoming the principal military centre in 
these regions. Similarly, equal improvement will be 
manifested in the position along the Persian and 
Afghan borders, to which easy approach is now ob- 
tained over the metals of this new work and for 
which those military stations — Askhabad, Merv, 
Samarkand — standing upon the Trans-Caspian 
Railway, and Osh now serve as a line of advanced 
bases. It is, therefore, essential to consider in detail 
this fresh state of affairs; and as knowledge of the 
Orenburg-Tashkent Railway is necessary to the 
proper understanding of the position of Afghanistan, 
the following study of that kingdom is prefaced with 
a complete description of the Orenburg-Tashkent 
work, together with the remaining sections of rail- 

4 



RAILWAY 

way conimunication between Orenburg and Kush- 
kinski Post. 

The journey between St. Petersburg and Orenburg 
covers 1230 miles and between Orenburg and Tash- 
kent 1174 miles, the latter line having taken almost 
four years to lay. Work began on the northern sec- 
tion in the autumn of 1900 and many miles of per- 
manent way had been constructed before, in the 
autumn of 1901, a start was made from the south. 
The two sections were united in September of 1904; 
but the northern was not opened to general traflBc 
until July, nor the southern before November, 1905. 
Prior to the railway, communications were main- 
tained by means of tarantass along the post-road, 
which led from Aktiubinsk across the Kirghiz steppes 
via Orsk to Irghiz and thence through Kazalinsk to 
Perovski, where the road passed through Turkestan 
to run via Chimkent to Tashkent — a journey 
of nineteen days. In addition to the galloping 
patyorJca and troika — teams of five and three horses 
respectively — which were wont to draw the vehi- 
cles along the post-road and the more lumbering 
Bactrian camels, harnessed three abreast and used 
in the stages across the Kara Kum, long, picturesque 
processions of camels, bound for Orenburg and car- 
rying cotton and wool from Osh and Andijan, silks 
from Samarkand and Khiva, tapestries from Kho- 
kand, lamb's-wool, skins and carpets from Bokhara, 
and dried fruits from Tashkent, annually passed 
between Tashkent and Orenburg from June to 
November. 

5 



AFGHANISTAN 

Of late years, the Trans-Caspian Railway, begun 
by Skobeleff in 1880 and gradually carried forward 
by Annenkoff to Samarkand, has supplanted the 
once flourishing traffic of the post-road, along which 
the passing of the mails is now the sole movement. 
The new railway, too, is destined to eliminate even 
these few links with the past, although in the end 
it may revive the prosperity of the towns which 
through lack of the former trade have shrunk in size 
and diminished in importance. The line does not 
exactly follow the postal route; but from Orenburg, 
which is the terminus of the railway from Samara on 
the Trans-Siberian system, it crosses the Ural River 
to Iletsk on the Ilek, a tributary of the Ural. From 
Iletsk the metals run via Aktiubinsk and Kazalinsk 
along the Syr Daria Valley via Perovski to Turkes- 
tan and thence to the terminus at Tashkent. 

Originally one of three suggested routes, the Oren- 
burg-Tashkent road was the more desirable because 
the more direct. Alternative schemes in favour of 
connecting the Trans-Siberian with the Central Asian 
Railway on one hand and the Saratoff-Uralsk Rail- 
way with the Central Asian Railway on the other 
were submitted to the commission appointed to 
select the route. Prudence and sentiment, as well 
as the absence of any physical difficulties in the 
way of prompt construction, tempered the resolution 
of the tribunal in favour of the old post -track. It 
was begun at once and pushed to completion within 
four years — a feat impossible to accomplish in the 
case of either of the two rival schemes. The former 

6 



RAILWAY 

of these, costly, elaborate, and ambitious, sought to 
connect Tashkent with Semipalatinsk, the head of 
the steamboat service on the Irtish River, 2000 
miles away, via Aulie-ata, Verni, and Kopal. Passing 
between the two lakes Issyk and Balkash alternative 
routes were suggested for its direction from Semi- 
palatinsk: the one securing a connection with the 
Trans-Siberian system at Omsk, the other seeking 
to pass along the post-road to Barnaul, terminating 
at Obi where the Trans-Siberian Railway bridges the 
Obi River. The supporters of the scheme, which 
aimed at uniting the Saratoff -Uralsk Railway with 
the Central Asian Railway, proposed to carry the 
line beyond Uralsk to Kungrad, a fishing village in 
close proximity to the efflux of the Amu Daria and 
the Aral Sea. From Kungrad, passing east of Khiva, 
the line would have traversed the Black Sands fol- 
lowing a straight line and breaking into the Cen- 
tral Asian system at Charjui, opposite which, at 
Farab, a line to Termes via Kelif has been pro- 
jected; and where, too, an iron girder bridge, resting 
on nineteen granite piers, spans the Amu Daria. It 
is useless at this date to weigh the balance betw^een 
the several schemes; one of which, the Orenburg- 
Tashkent route, has become an accomplished fact 
to provide, doubtless in the near future, matter for 
immediate concern. 

From Orenburg, of which the population is 80,000, 
the line 4 versts ^ from the station crosses the Ural 
River by an iron bridge, 160 sagenes ^ in length, run- 

» 1 Verst = § mile English. « 1 Sagene = 7 feet English. 

7 



AFGHANISTAN 

ning from there south to Iletsk, formerly the fortress 
Iletskaya Zashchita and at present a sub-district 
town of the Orenburg Government with a population 
of 12,000. 

From Iletsk a short branch line, rather more than 
three versts in length, proceeds to the Iletsk salt 
mines. Running eastwards and crossing the Ilek 
River from the right to the left bank by an iron 
bridge 105 sagenes in length it reaches Aktiubinsk, 
a district town in Turhai Province. At this stage 
the railway traverses the main watershed of the Ural, 
Temir, Kubele, and Embi Rivers, arriving at the 
Kum Asu Pass across the Mugodjarski Range. The 
passage of the line through the mountains, extend- 
ing 26 versts and a veritable triumph of engineering, 
imposed a severe test upon the constructive ability of 
the railway staff. Beyond the range the line turns 
southward following the valleys of the Bolshoi, 
Mali Karagandi, and Kuljur Rivers until, 600 versts 
from Orenburg, it arrives at Lake Tchelkar. The 
Une now runs across the Bolshiye and Maliye Bar- 
suki sands, where there is abundance of undergound 
fresh water, to the northern extremity of the Sari 
Tchegonak Inlet on the Aral Sea, where it descends 
to sea-level moving along the north-eastern shore. 
The military depot at Kazalinsk — sometimes called 
Fort No. 1 — now approaches. This point founded 
in 1854 has lost its exclusive military character, 
ranking merely among the district centres of the Syr 
Daria Province. Thirty-six versts from Kazalinsk, 
at the next station, Mai Libash, situated in a locality 

8 



RAILWAY 

quite suitable for colonisation, a branch line, 4 versts 
in length, links up the important water-way of the 
Syr Daria with the Orenburg-Tashkent system, ex- 
tending the facilities of the railway to shipping which 
may be delayed through stress of bad weather in the 
gulf or through inadequacy of the draught over the 
bar at the mouth of the river. 

The main line keeps to the Syr Daria, running 
through the steppe along the post-road to Karmak- 
chi or Fort No. 2. On leaving Karmakchi it diverges 
from the post-road to wind round a succession of 
lakes and marshes which lie at a distance of 50 versts 
from the river. The railway continuing its original 
direction now runs along the basins of the Syr Daria 
and the Karauzyak, a tributary which it crosses twice 
by small bridges, each constructed with two spans 
60 sagenes in length. The character of the country 
from Karmakchi to Perovski, a distance of 138 versts, 
differs considerably from the region preceding it. 
The low-lying ground, broken by swamps, is every- 
where covered with a thick overgrowth of reeds; 
while the more elevated parts, watered by ariks, are 
devoted to the cultivation of crops. The town of 
Perovski is situated in flat country Ij versts from 
the station. From there to Djulek the line returns 
to the post-road and some distance from the Syr 
Daria passes between the river and the Ber Kazan 
Lakes to Ber Kazan. At Djulek, the name being 
adopted from a small adjacent hamlet, it diverges 
from the post-road to run direct to the village of 
Skobelevski, one of those curious peasant settlements 

9 



AFGHANISTAN 

which located in the uttermost parts of Central Asia 
preserve in their smallest detail every characteristic 
of remote Russia. At such a place life savours so 
strongly of the Middle Ages that one scarcely heeds 
the purely modern significance which attaches to the 
Iron Horse. 

Barely 30 versts from Skobelevski and situated 
close to the Syr Daria, there is the station of Tumen 
Arik, which gives place to Turkestan, beyond which 
for 120 versts the line runs parallel with the post- 
road. The station is 2§ versts to the north of the 
town of Turkestan, one of the most important towns 
in the Syr Daria Province and only 40 versts from 
the Syr Daria. The next station, Ikan, is associated 
with the conquest of Turkestan, a famous battle 
having been fought about the scene where the station 
buildings now stand. Twenty versts to the north of 
the station, close to the post-road, there is a memo- 
rial to Ural Cossacks who fell during the fight. 
Otrar, the following station, is identified with the 
tradition, derived from the existence of an enormous 
mound standing amid the ruins of the old-time city 
of Otrar, that Timur, when his army crossed the Syr 
Daria, ordered each of his soldiers to throw a hand- 
ful of earth upon the ground at the point where the 
river was crossed in safety. Beyond Otrar the line 
runs along the right bank of the Aris River, crossing 
it at 1570 versts from Orenburg by a bridge of 90 
sagenes in three spans of 30 sagenes each. Aris sta- 
tion is placed further along the river bank at a point 
where at some future date branch lines between it 

10 



RAILWAY 

and the town of Verni, as well as to a junction with 
the Trans-Siberian system, will be laid. After leav- 
ing it, the railway, still ascending, ultimately crosses 
the pass of Sari Agatch in the Kizi Kurt Range, 267 
sagenes above the sea. 

The descent from the pass leads to Djilgi Valley 
where the line crosses three bridges; passing over the 
Keless River by a single-span bridge of 25 sagenes, 
over the Bos-su arik by a bridge of 18 sagenes, and 
over the Salar River by a bridge of 12 sagenes. Sev- 
enty-two versts further, the line runs into its termi- 
nus at Tashkent which is now classed as a station of 
the first degree, although commercially it stands only 
sixth among the stations of the Central Asian Rail- 
way ranking with Andijan and yielding priority of 
place to Krasnovodsk, Samarkand, Khokand, Ask- 
habad, and Bokhara. It is proposed at Tashkent, 
which lies 1762 versts from Orenburg, 1747 versts 
from Krasnovodsk, and 905 versts from Merv, and 
where it is evident that the needs of the railway have 
been carefully studied, to double the track between 
Orenburg and Tashkent. Large stocks of spare rails 
and railway plant are held in reserve in sheds, one 
important feature of this very efficient preparation 
being the possession of 20 versts of light military rail- 
way. The erection of engine-sheds, waggon-sheds, 
workshops, supply stores, and quarters for the staff 
has followed a most elaborate scale, these buildings 
being arranged in three groups around the station. 
The railway medical staff and the subordinate traffic 
and traction officials occupy the first; the chiefs of 

11 



AFGHANISTAN 

the traffic, telegraph, and traction departments are 
in possession of the second; the remaining employees 
securing accommodation in the third set of buildings 
placed at the end of the Station Square. Along 
the opposite face are the spacious workshops where 
between five and six hundred men find daily employ- 
ment; in juxtaposition with the general depot are 
the railway hospital, where there is accommodation 
for 10 beds, the main supply stores and a naphtha 
reservoir with a capacity of 50,000 poods. ^ 

The country in the neighbourhood of Tashkent as 
seen from the railway presents the picture of a boun- 
tiful oasis. For 20 versts there is no interruption 
to a scene of wonderful fertility. Market gardens, 
smiling vineyards, and fruitful orchards, not to men- 
tion cotton-fields and corn lands, cover the landscape. 
This abundance in a measure is due to careful irriga- 
tion and to the excellent system of conserving water 
which has been introduced. In support of this, 113 
specific works have been completed, each of which 
— and the giant total includes water-pipes by the 
mile and innumerable aqueducts — was a component 
part of that scheme of irrigation by which life in 
Central Asia alone can be made possible. 

Although work upon the Orenburg-Tashkent line 
began in 1900 immediately after the completion of 
the original survey, wherever more careful examina- 
tion has shown an advantage to be possible altera- 
tions have been made. The cost of construction, 
estimated at 70,000 roubles* per verst, has been 

* 1 pood = 36 lbs. • 1 rouble = two shillings. 

12 



RAILWAY 

materially lessened by these means — a reduction 
of M versts equally divided between the Orenburg 
and Kazalinsk, Kazalinsk and Tashkent sections 
having been effected. By comparison with the old 
post-road the railway is much the shorter of the two 
lines of communication, the advantage in its favour 
amounting to 134 versts on one section of the road 
alone; the actual length between Tashkent and Kaza- 
linsk being by post-road 953i versts and by railway 
8191. 

In its local administration the railway is divided 
into four sections: 

No. 1. From Orenburg to the Mugodjarski Moun- 
tains about 400 versts. 

No. 2. From Mugodjarski Mountains to the sands 
of Bolshiye Barsuki, 400 to 560 versts. 

No. 3. From the sands of Bolshiye Barsuki to 
Kazalinsk, 560 to 845 versts. 

No. 4. From Kazalinsk to Tashkent, 845 to 1762 
versts. 

In the northern section the line is supplied every- 
where with fresh water — in the first instance from 
the Ural River and then by the smaller rivers, Don- 
guz, Elshanka, Ilek, Kulden, Kubele, Temir, and 
Embi; Koss Lake, and finally from wells. 

Here are the Iletsk mines, famous for their rock 
salt. They despatch annually to Orenburg more 
than 1,500,000 poods of salt. The deposits cover a 
field 4 versts in extent with an unvarying thickness 
of more than 85 sagenes. The section now in work- 
ing contains 100 milliard poods of salt, The annual 

13 



AFGHANISTAN 

yield may be reckoned at 7,000,000 poods. At the 
present time considerable less than this output is 
obtained, the high freight charges upon land-carried 
goods and the insufficiency of the labour available 
being responsible for the disproportion. 

In another direction, the Iletsk district is of 
importance; the veterinary station Temir Utkul, 
through which pass large herds of cattle on their way 
to Orenburg from the Ural Province, having been 
established there. In the course of the year many 
thousands of cattle are examined by the surgeons 
of the Veterinary Board — the existence of the 
numerous cattle-sheds and the constant arrival of 
the droves adding to the noise and bustle of Iletsk, 
if not exactly increasing its gaiety. Further on, in 
the Aktiubinsk district of the Turgai Province and 
along the whole valley of the II ek River, where 
much of the land is under cultivation, wide belts 
are given over to the pasturage of these travelling 
mobs of cattle. Upon both banks of the river, too, 
there are Kirghiz villages. 

From an agricultural point of view this locality, 
on account of its paucity of population and fertile 
soil, is regarded with high favour by the immigration 
authorities. In the town of Aktiubinsk itself there is 
a yearly market of cattle, corn, manufactures, and 
agricultural implements. This as a rule returns a 
quarter of a million roubles. Now that the railway 
has been completed and opened to passenger and 
commercial traffic, it is expected that it will give an 
immediate impetus to this region and that it will 

14 



RAILWAY 

be possible to carry out a more careful examination 
of its mining resources, of which at the present time 
there are only indications. Copper has been traced 
along the Burt, Burl, Khabd, and Kutchuk Sai Riv- 
ers; deposits of coal have been found near the 
Maloi Khabd, Teress Butak, and Yakshi Kargach 
Rivers; iron has been located by the Burt River 
and naphtha on the Djus River; while there is rea- 
son to believe that gold exists in the vicinity. 

On the second section, the line derives its water 
from springs in the Djaksi Mountains, the basin of 
the Kuljur River, the Khoja and Tchelkar Lakes. 
It abounds with Kirghiz villages but minerals do not 
play an important part in it. A few seams of coal 
are believed to exist in the ravine of the Alabass 
stream; and there are lodestone mines in the Djaman 
Mountains and in the Kin Asu defile. Cattle-farm- 
ing is more remunerative to the local settlers than 
cereal production; as a consequence there is very 
little cultivation. 

On the third section, which extends from the sands 
of Bolshiye Barsuki to Kazalinsk, covering an area 
of 285 versts, the water-supply is obtained at first 
from shallow surface wells; but 45 versts from Kaz- 
alinsk the railway enters the Syr Daria Valley, 
where water is abundant. The southern areas of 
this belt alone possess any commercial importance, 
owing to Kirghiz from the northern part of the Irgiz 
district who, to the number of some 10,000 kihitkas, 
winter there. The northern part is largely the con- 
tinuation of a sparse steppe. The Kazalinsk district, 

15 



AFGHANISTAN 

beyond which the Orenburg-Tashkent Railway enters 
Turkestan, is one of the least important divisions of 
the Syr Daria Province. 

Around Kazalinsk itself, however, there has been 
but little agricultural activity. In the main, devel- 
opment is confined to the fertile Agerskski Valley 
and along the Kuban Daria, a tributary of the Syr 
Daria. The return is meagre and the population 
has not sufficient corn for its own needs. Large 
quantities of grain are annually imported into the 
neighbourhood from the Amu Daria district by boat 
across the Aral Sea or by camel caravan. Railway 
traffic in this section nevertheless will not rely upon 
the carriage of cereal produce — live stock, which 
until the advent of the railway was sent to Orenburg 
by boat along the Syr Daria and then by caravan- 
road to the city, representing the prospective return 
which the district will bring to the line. 

The revenue of Kazalinsk is 21,880 roubles. The 
town contains the residences of a district governor 
and an inspector of fisheries, together with district 
military headquarters, the administrative offices of 
the treasury and the district court, besides a district 
hospital and a public library. There are no hotels. 
In early days in the conquest of Turkestan, when 
the Kazalinsk road served as the only line of com- 
munication with European Russia, the town be- 
came a busy mart for Orenburg, Tashkent, Khiva, 
and Bokhara; even now the Kirghiz in the dis- 
trict possess 770,000 head of cattle. Trade was 
obliterated by the advent of the Central Asian 

16 



RAILWAY 

Railway; but it is hoped that now the Oren- 
burg-Tashkent line has been opened to traflSe it 
may revive. 

The village of Karmakchi, which is situated on 
the banks of the Syr Daria, is another point in this 
district. It boasts only a small population, in all 
some 300 odd, an Orthodox church, post and tele- 
graph office, two schools, hospital, and military base 
office. Importance attaches to the post as it is upon 
the high road along which is conducted the winter 
trek of the Kirghiz. 

The value of the annual export trade of the region 
is: 

EXPORTS 



2,000,000 



Wool{^^3} 200.000' 

Hides 150,000 

Lard 150,000. 

Cattle 400,000 

The value of the annual import trade amounts to: 

IMPORTS 

MERCHANDISE VALUE 

110,000 poods 1,800,000 roubles 

With the opening of the line to traffic the transpor- 
tation of fish by the railway has shown a tendency to 
increase. It is believed that the development of the 
fishing industry throughout the Aral basin is only 
a matter of time. At present the yearly catch of 
fish there reaches a total of 300,000 poods, of which 
not less than one-half is sent to Orenburg, the trade 
realising about 1,000,000 roubles. Hitherto little has 

17 



AFGHANISTAN 

been attempted. With the assistance of the railway 
a speedy expansion of the trade is assured — the 
interests of the fishing population and the general 
welfare of the river traffic having been advanced 
through the construction of a harbour upon the gulf 
of Sari Cheganak, in connection with the railway 
and only five versts distant. Aral Sea, the station 
at this point, is 790 versts from Orenburg. 

The fourth and last division, from Kazalinsk to 
Tashkent, runs along the valley of the Syr Daria. 
It is fully supplied with good water and possesses a 
larger population than either the second or the third 
sections. In it the line traverses the following dis- 
tricts of the Syr Daria Province: 

DISTRICT AREA POPULATION 

Perovski 95,965 sq. versts 133,784 

Chimkent 100,808 " " 285,180 

Tashkent 40,380 " " 600,015 



The Perovski district, notwithstanding the good 
qualities of its soil, produces very little corn; its chief 
population consists of nomadic Kirghiz who together 
own 990,000 head of cattle, the export cattle trade 
for the district amounting to 2,000,000 roubles 
annually. Small tracts of wheat and millet are cul- 
tivated here and there with the aid of tchigirs, native 
watering-pumps. The water is brought up from the 
river by means of a wheel, along the rim of which 
are fixed earthenware jugs or cylindrical vessels of 
sheet iron. These vessels raise the water to the 
height of the bank, whence it is very readily dis- 
tributed. The best corn lands are situated in the 

18 



RAILWAY 

Djulek sub-district; but the primitive metliods of 
agriculture existing amongst the nomads, in conjunc- 
tion with the deficiencies in the irrigation system, 
explain at once the lack of cereal development in 
these areas. 

Perovski was taken by Count Perovski on July 
28, 1853, and in honour of the occasion by Imperial 
order the fortress was renamed Fort Perovski. Close 
to the town there is a memorial to the Russian sol- 
diers who fell during that engagement. 

The present population comprises: 

MALES FEMALES TOTAL 

3197 1969 5166 

Orthodox Russians 1050 Jews 130 

Dissenters 210 Tartars 450 

Sarts and Kirghiz 3326 

together with district administrative oflSces similar to 
those established at Kazalinsk. The water-supply 
is drawn from the Syr Daria by means of wells. 
There are no hotels. The town revenue is only 
12,350 roubles; although the importation of various 
goods from Russia into the Perovski district repre- 
sents an annual sum of 2,900,000 roubles. With the 
advent of the Central Asian Railway the commercial 
importance of Perovski, once a point through which 
caravans destined for Orenburg or Tashkent passed, 
waned. Now its trade is dependent upon the numer- 
ous Tartars and Ural Cossacks who have settled 
there. The place is unhealthy, and the settlement 
is affected by the malaria arising from the marshes 
which surround it. In spring and summer the la- 

19 



AFGHANISTAN 

goons swarm with myriads of mosquitoes and horse- 
flies; so great is the plague that the Kirghiz together 
with their flocks and herds after wintering along the 
Syr Daria beat a hurried retreat into the steppe, 
driven off by the tiresome insects. Many months 
elapse before the nomads return; it is not until the 
cold weather has set in that they appear in any 
numbers. Quite close to Perovski there are two im- 
migrant villages — Alexandrovski and Novo Astra- 
khanski — erected in 1895, where the inhabitants 
are occupied with cattle-farming and the sale of 
hay in winter time to the Kirghiz. The district 
possesses nothing save a pastoral population and a 
small settlement of 200 souls at Djulek. This place, 
formerly a fortress founded in 1861 and now half 
destroyed by the floods of the Syr Daria, contains 
the administrative offices of the commissioner of the 
section, with a postal and telegraphic bureau and a 
native school. To the south of Djulek there is 
Skobelevski, another small village founded by immi- 
grants in 1895 and containing some 5Q houses. It 
is watered by the Tchilli arik. Skobelevski is rapidly 
developing into a trade-mart, the source of its good 
fortune being contained in the advantageous position 
which it fills in the steppe. Throughout this region, 
plots of land with a good quality soil and well watered 
have been granted to colonists. 

The Chimkent district similarly possesses a rich 
and fertile soil, derived in the main from its network 
of irrigating canals. Its population is more numerous 
than other adjacent settlements and it supports 

20 



RAILWAY 

altogether 17 immigrant villages with a population 
of 5135. Chimkent contains in itself all the fea- 
tures necessary to the development of a wide belt 
of agriculture; but at the present time the most 
extensive tracts of wheat land are along the systems 
of the Aris, Aksu, Badam, Buraldai, Burdjar, Tcha- 
yan, and Bugun Rivers. In the valley of the Arisi, 
along the middle reaches, there are rice-fields; and 
in the country round Chimkent the cotton industry 
has begun to develop. Experiments are being tried 
in the cultivation of beet-root, as the soil and climatic 
conditions of the district are especially favourable 
to its growth. The present quality of the Chimkent 
beet-root is not inferior to that grown in the Kharkoff 
Government; so that Chimkent may well become, 
in the near future, the centre of a sugar-producing 
industry, not only for Turkestan but for the whole 
of Central Asia, which so far has imported its sugar 
exclusively from European Russia. 

The district town of Chimkent, formerly a Kho- 
kand fortress taken by the Russian forces under the 
command of General Chernaieff, September 22, 1864, 
lies upon the eastern side of the railway. Its popu- 
lation comprises: 



MALES 


FEMALES 


TOTAL 


6887 


5554 


12,441 


Orthodox Russians . . . . 


768 Jews 


150 



Natives 11,523 

Government ofiSces similar to those in other towns 
are also found. 

The town revenue is 11,760 roubles. 

21 



AFGHANISTAN 

The trade returns of the Chimkent district amount 
to 5,000,000 roubles. 

Through Chimkent passes a road from Tashkent 
to Verni. In the northern part of the district the 
Hne runs close to the ruins of the ancient town of 
Sauran and the fortress of Vani Kurgan, from where 
it proceeds to Turkestan. This was occupied in 1864 
by the Russian forces under the command of General 
Verevkin. 

Turkestan is situated 40 versts to the east of the 
right bank of the Syr Daria, at a height of 102 
sagenes above sea-level. It is watered by canals 
diverted from springs and small rivers which flow 
from the southern slopes of the Kara Mountains. 
The combined population of the place comprises: 

MALES FEMALES TOTAL 

7624 6461 14,085 

Orthodox Russians 441 Jews 460 

Dissenters 31 Natives 13,153 

The outward appearance of the town is extremely 
handsome. There is much vegetation, many wide 
streets, and large open spaces. 

There are: 

RUSSIAN QUARTER NATIVE QUARTER 

Houses 73 Houses 2140 

Orthodox churches .... 2 Schools 5 

Synagogues 2 Native schools 22 

Mosques 58 Medresse 1 

Military hospital 1 

together with the administrative bureau of the sec- 
tional commissioner, besides district military head- 



RAILWAY 

quarters, a district court, and a post and telegraph 
office. 

In respect of trade Turkestan occupies a promi- 
nent place. The great bulk of the raw products of 
the nomad cattle-farming industry is brought to it 
for the purpose of exchanging with articles of Rus- 
sian manufacture. The yearly returns of the bazaars 
amount to 4,000,000 roubles; an increase upon this 
sum is expected now that in the Karatavski Moun- 
tains, which are close at hand, lead mines have been 
discovered. The town revenue is 19,350 roubles. 

The Tashkent district is more densely populated 
and possesses a more productive soil than Chimkent. 
The mineral resources, too, present greater promise 
while the trade returns reach a total of 50,000,000 
roubles a year. Merchandise comes from Siberia into 
Orenburg and Tashkent; while, in addition, there 
are the local products and those from the interior 
of European Russia. The line serves, also, as the 
shortest route between Tashkent and the rich corn 
region at Chelyabinsk and Kurgan. Undoubtedly 
it will assist to supply the whole of Turkestan with 
Siberian corn, thereby setting free some of the 
land now under corn for the cultivation of cotton. 
Further, it connects Tashkent with the centre of the 
mining industry in the Ural Mountains; and dense 
streams of Russian colonisation and trade pass by 
it into the heart of Central Asia. 

The prosperity introduced both into Orenburg and 
Tashkent by the creation of railway communication 
between these two centres will exercise a very bene- 



AFGHANISTAN 

ficial effect upon the capacity of their markets. 
Already improvement has been marked, the flow of 
fresh trade through these new channels following 
closely upon the advance of the construction parties. 
The period available for statistics does not represent 
the effect of the new railway upon local trade. 

The passenger traffic into Tashkent over the Cen- 
tral Asian line was: 

1901 

ARRIVALS DEPARTURES 

48,515 47,213 

During the few years which have elapsed since the 
figures were compiled the Orenburg-Tashkent Rail- 
way has been opened, this happy accomplishment 
at once becoming a factor of the greatest economic 
importance in the commerce of Central Asia. 



24 



CHAPTER II 

TEE KHANATE OF BOKHARA 

THE Khanate of Bokhara, across wmch lies 
the direct line of any advance upon Afghan- 
istan, is the most important of the Russian 
protected states in Central Asia. It is situated in 
the basin of the Amu Daria between the provinces 
of Trans-Caspia on the west, of Samarkand and 
Ferghana on the north and east; while^ in the south, 
the course of the Oxus separates, along 500 versts 
of the frontier, the dominions of Bokhara from those 
of Afghanistan. 

The area occupied by Bokhara, including the sub- 
territories Darwaz, Roshan, and Shignan situated 
upon the western slopes of the Pamirs, amounts to 
80,000 square miles, over which in the western part 
certain salt marshes and desolate stretches of sandy 
desert extend. The eastern area is confined by the 
rugged chains of the Alai and Trans-Alai systems, 
the Hissar Mountains, the immediate prolongation of 
the Alai Range and crowned with perpetual snow, 
attaining considerable altitude. This group divides 
the basins of the Zerafshan and Kashka Daria from 
the basin of the Amu Daria. The rivers of Bokhara 
belong to the Amu Daria system, the Oxus flowing 

25 



AFGHANISTAN 

for 490 versts through the Khanate itself. Constant 
demands for purposes of irrigation are made upon 
its waters, as well as upon the waters of its many 
tributaries, a fact which rapidly exhausts the lesser 
streams. In the western portion of the Khanate the 
Zerafshan River is the great artery; and although it 
possesses a direct stream only 214 versts in length 
it supplies a system of canals, the aggregate length 
of which amounts to more than 1000 versts. These 
again are divided to supply a further thousand chan- 
nels, from which the water actually used for irri- 
gating the various settlements and fields is finally 
drawn. The second most important river in the 
western part of the Khanate is the Kashka Daria, 
which waters the vast oases of Shakhri, Syabz, and 
Karshine. In the eastern areas numerous streams 
are fed by the snows and glaciers of the Alai Moun- 
tain system. 

The western region of Bokhara possesses an 
extremely dry climate which, while hot in summer, 
tends to emphasise the severe cold of the winter 
months. Occasionally at that time the Amu Daria 
freezes, when the ice remains about the river for two 
or three weeks. The break-up of winter is mani- 
fested by heavy rains which, falling in February, 
continue until the middle of March, when, after a 
short month of spring, a hot sun burns up the vege- 
tation. At this period the nomadic tribes aban- 
don the plains for the mountains, large areas of the 
Khanate now presenting the appearance of a sparsely 
populated desert in which the sole vegetation is 

26: 



THE KHANATE OF BOKHARA 

found along the banks of the rivers or in oases 
watered by the canals. With the advent of autumn, 
the steppe once more reflects the movements of 
these people. 

In its eastern part the altitude varies between 2500 
and 8500 feet above sea-level. The climate, warm 
and mild in summer, is of undue severity in winter, 
the period of extreme cold lasting some four months. 
Snow, commencing to fall in October, remains upon 
the ground until April, the frosts always being severe. 
At such a season the winds, blowing from the north- 
east, possess an unusual keenness in contradistinc- 
tion to the strong south-south-westerly winds which, 
prevailing in summer, are the precursor to burning 
sand-storms. 

The total population of the Khanate amounts 
approximately to 2,500,000; the well-watered, flour- 
ishing oases bear in some places as many as 4000 
people to the square mile. The steppe and moun- 
tainous regions are sparsely populated. The most 
important inhabited centres of the Khanate are as 
follows: 

DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION 

TOWN POPULATION TOWN POPULATION 

Bokhara 100,000 Hissar 15,000 

Karshi 60,000 Shir Abad 20,000 

Shaar 10,000 Karki 10,000 

Guzar 25,000 Charjui 15,000 

Kara Kul 5,000 Kermine 12,000 

Ziadin 8,000 Kelif 7,000 

According to ethnographic distribution the pop- 
ulation falls into two divisions. To the first belong 

27 



AFGHANISTAN 

those of Turki extraction and to the second the Ira- 
nian group. Amongst those of Turki descent, the 
Uzbegs take the most prominent place, constituting 
not only a racial preponderance but the ruling power 
in the Khanate. Among the remaining constituents 
of the Turki division are the Turkomans (chiefly 
Ersaris) and the Kirghiz. To the Iranian category 
belong the Tajiks — the original inhabitants of the 
country, even now constituting the principal section 
of the population throughout its eastern and south- 
ern portions; the Sarts, a conglomeration of Turki 
and Iranian nationalities, comprise a considerable 
proportion of the urban and rural population. In 
smaller numbers are the various colonies of Jews, 
Afghans, Persians, Arabs, Armenians, Hindoos, and 
others. With the exception of the Jews and the 
Hindoos the entire population is Mohammedan. 

It will be seen that the population is represented 
by sedentary, semi-nomadic, and nomadic classes. 
The first, constituting about 65 per cent, of the whole 
population, is distributed principally in the plains, 
a considerable proportion comprising Tajiks, Sarts, 
Jews, Persians, Afghans, and Hindoos. The semi- 
nomadic population forms about 15 per cent., con- 
sisting partly of Uzbegs, Turkomans, and Tajiks 
dwelling in the hills. The nomads, who make up 
20 per cent, of the population, live in the steppes of 
the western portion of the Khanate, in Darwaz and 
along the slopes of the Hissar Mountains. They 
comprise Uzbegs, Turkomans, and Kirghiz. 

The soil, in general adapted to agriculture, yields 

28 



THE KHANATE OF BOKHARA 

with irrigation excellent harvests. The amount of 
cultivated land in the Khanate is little in excess of 
8000 square miles; but, in order to make full use 
of the waters of the Amu Daria, Surkan, Kafirnigan, 
and Waksh Rivers, a large expenditure would be 
required, the present system of irrigation being very- 
inadequate. Apart from cotton, which is exported 
in the raw state to the value of several million poods 
annually, and the silk industry, which, owing to dis- 
ease among the worms, has deteriorated, the chief 
agricultural interest lies in the production of fruit, 
the produce of the orchards forming a staple food 
during the summer months. As a consequence, 
many different varieties of grapes, peaches, apricots, 
melons, watermelons, plums, apples, and pears are 
cultivated in the several gardens and orchards. 
Cattle-farming is conducted extensively in the val- 
leys of the Hissar and Alai Ranges and in Darwaz; 
in Kara Kul, situated in the vast TJrta Chul steppe 
between the towns of Bokhara and Karsi, is the home 
of the famous caracal sheep. Other industries are 
the manufacture of leathern goods: shoes, saddles, 
saddle-cloths; metal and pottery ware; while a staple 
product, employed in the manufacture of felts, car- 
pets, and the clothes of the people, is cotton wool. 

The yearly budget of the Khanate amounts to 
8,000,000 roubles, 1,005,000 roubles of which are 
spent upon the army. The standing army, compris- 
ing Guards, battalions of the line, cavalry regiments, 
a brigade of mounted rifles, and a small corps of 
artillerists, possesses a strength of 15,000 men with 

29 



AFGHANISTAN 

twenty guns. In addition there is a militia liable 
for duty in case of necessity but, equally with its 
more imposing sister service, of little practical utiHty. 
The city of Bokhara is surrounded by massive 
walls which were built in the ninth century, 28 feet 
in height, 14 feet in thickness at the base, with 131 
towers, and pierced at irregular intervals by eleven 
gates. These ramparts contain, within a circuit of 7J 
miles, an area of 1760 acres. The population num- 
bers some hundred thousand and the variety of types 
included in this estimate is immense. The Tajiks, 
who predominate, are well favoured in their appear- 
ance; they have clear, olive complexions with black 
eyes and hair. Polite, hard-working, and intelli- 
gent, they possess considerable aptitude for business. 
Against these excellent traits, however, must be 
noted the fact that they are inclined to cowardice 
and dishonesty. On this account they are regarded 
with contempt by the Uzbegs, a race whose physi- 
cal characteristics cause them to resemble the rude 
warriors of the Osmanlis who supplanted the Cross 
by the Crescent in the fifteenth century. Indepen- 
dent in their bearing, the Uzbegs possess high cour- 
age together with something of the inborn dignity 
of the Turk; but they are distinguished from that 
nation by a greater grossness of manner and less 
individuality. Equally with the Kirghiz and the 
Turkomans, the Uzbegs are divided in their classes 
between sedentary people and nomads. Then, also, 
in this dsedalus there is the Jewish community, which 
is traditionally believed to have migrated hither 

30 



THE KHANATE OF BOKHARA 

from Baghdad. The Jews in Bokhara are forbid- 
den to ride in the streets; while they must wear 
a distinctive costume, the main features of which 
include a small black cap, a dressing-gown of camel's 
hair, and a rope girdle. They are relegated to a 
filthy ghetto; and, although they may not be killed 
with impunity by a good believer, they are subjected 
to such grinding persecution that their numbers 
have been reduced in the course of half a century 
to something less than 75 per cent, of the 10,000 who 
originally composed the colony. The Jew in Bok- 
hara shares with the Hindoo settler there the profits 
of money-lending and the two classes are keen hands 
at a bargain. In addition to the Hindoos there are 
a few Mohammedan merchants from Peshawar who 
are concerned in the tea trade. Other races among 
the moving mass comprise Afghans, Persians, and 
Arabs, the variety of features shown by a Bokharan 
crowd suggesting so many different quarters as their 
place of origin that one would need to recite the map 
of High Asia to describe them. 

The town of Bokhara is supplied with water from 
the Shari Rud Canal, which, in turn, is fed by 
the Zerafshan River. A considerable amount is 
stored locally in special reservoirs, of which there 
are 85. As their contents are seldom changed the 
supply soon assumes a thick, greenish consistency, 
the use of which is extremely detrimental to the 
health of the inhabitants. The deficiency of fresh 
water for drinking purposes, the oppressiveness of 
the summer heat, and the propinquity of numerous 

31 



AFGHANISTAN 

cemeteries, together with the dust and dirt of the 
crowded streets, make Hfe in Bokhara almost intol- 
erable. The city, too, is a hot-bed of disease, malaria 
being specially prominent at certain seasons. The 
filaria medinesisy a worm of burrowing propensity, 
is endemic. 

In Bokhara, as in most Eastern cities, the feminine 
element is entirely excluded from the street. The 
emancipation of women has not begun in the Middle 
East; should any have to venture forth they are 
muffled up so carefully that not even a suggestion 
of their personal appearance can be gathered. Yet 
there is a certain charm and mystery in the flitting 
of the veiled Beauty and one would fain linger to 
speculate further, if such dallying with fortune were 
not eminently injudicious. If there is no revelation 
of the female form divine in the bazaar there is, at 
least, a wonderful wealth of gorgeous colouring. In 
time of festival the scene, welling up to break away 
in endless ripples, suggests the myriad beauties of a 
rainbow splintered into a million fragments. 

There is relief, too, from the burning sunshine in 
the cool, lofty passages: shady, thronged, and tortu- 
ous they extend in endless succession for mile after 
mile. The roof of the bazaar is a rude contrivance 
of undressed beams upon which there is a covering 
of beaten clay. Behind each stall is an alcove in 
the wall serving as home and office to the keen- 
visaged merchant who presides. In this little recess, 
piled upon innumerable shelves, rammed into little 
niches or strewn upon the floor, are the different 

32 




A CITY SCENE IN AFGHANISTAN 



THE KHANATE OF BOKHARA 

articles which his trade requires. Carpets and rugs 
of harmonious hues, a wealth of parti-coloured shawls, 
innumerable lengths of dress pieces, cutlery, trinkets, 
snuff-boxes, gorgeous velvets and brilliant silks, the 
shimmer of satin and the coarse tracing of gold-wire 
embroidery, are here all displayed in prodigal con- 
fusion. As to the sources of supply, a good deal of 
the nierchandise is the produce of Russian markets. 
For the rest, a certain proportion comes from Ger- 
many and a small amount is imported from France. 
England, it may be noted, is not represented at all. 

The money-changers have a quarter to themselves, 
as have also the metal-workers and the vendors of 
silks and velvets. At every corner and odd twist 
of the passages there are the sweet-sellers, the tea 
merchants, and the booths for food. China is the 
principal source of the tea supply, but of late a cer- 
tain amount has found its way into Bokhara from 
the gardens of India and Ceylon. It is before the 
steaming samovars that the crowd of prospective 
purchasers is apt to be thickest. Beyond the bazaar 
boundaries are the wonderful relics of a bygone 
grandeur — imposing buildings and mosques, touched 
with the glory of the sunlight and capacious enough 
to contain within their courtyards 10,000 people at 
one time. 

Although the chief interest of Bokhara centres 
in the portion just described, its public buildings 
well repay leisurely examination. The Registan, the 
market-place of the north-west quarter, acts as a 
central zone. On one side standing upon a vast 

33 



AFGHANISTAN 

artificial mound is the citadel or Ark, its mighty 
walls forming a square of 450 yards, its parapet 
crenellated, and its corners set with towers. The 
building dates from the era of the Samanides. In 
addition to the Amir's palace the walls of the Ark 
enclose the houses of the chief ministers, the treasury, 
the state prison, and various offices. The entrance 
to the citadel, which is defended by two imposing 
towers, is closed by massive gates above which there 
is a clock. None save the highest officials are per- 
mitted to enter the Ark; visitors, irrespective of 
rank, are compelled to dismount at its doors and to 
proceed on foot to the Amir's quarters. Opposite 
the Ark stands the largest mosque in Bokhara, the 
Medjidi Kalan or Kok Gumbaz — the Mosque of 
the Green Cupola — which the Amir attends every 
Friday when he is in residence. 

A smaller market-place, where transactions in cot- 
ton are carried out, is surrounded by several impos- 
ing edifices that rise with infinite grace to the sky, 
besides countless minarets of prayer acting as land- 
marks to the faithful. Here is the Great Mosque, 
the Masjid-i-Jama, while facing it is the Medresse 
Mir-i-Arab. This latter building ranks first among 
the many stately colleges of Bokhara. Near at hand 
is the Minar Kalan, 36 feet at the base and taper- 
ing to a height of over 200 feet. From a small plat- 
form just below the lofty pinnacle, miscreants were 
hurled to destruction in bygone days. With the 
exception of these buildings the city contains little 
of antiquity. 

34 



THE KHANATE OF BOKHARA 

For its size the native quarter is a centre of the 
greatest importance; and its streets, although mean 
and sinuous, are filled by a crowd most typical of 
Asia. Ten thousand students receive instruction in 
its schools. 

The houses, which are set in small compounds 
approached by narrow alleys, are composed of clay 
with low roofs and without windows. A hole in 
the roof suffices for a chimney, and the open door 
affords light. 



35 



CHAPTER III 

THE PROVINCE OF SAMARKAND 

SAMARKAND, the administrative centre of 
the province of the same name and founded 
in 1871, is a close reproduction of a large 
Indian cantonment. The streets are wide, well 
paved, fringed with tall poplars, and set with shops 
which are kept by Europeans. For the Russians, as 
the centre of the province and the location of army- 
headquarters, it has special importance. Although 
without any architectural pretensions — the build- 
ings are all one-storey structures on account of 
frequent visitations from earthquakes — its com- 
paratively lofty position makes it an agreeable sta- 
tion and one of the most attractive gathering-places 
for Europeans in Asiatic Russia. The city is sit- 
uated upon the south-western slopes of the Chupan 
Ata Range, 7 versts from the Zerafshan River. 
The close proximity of the hills naturally influences 
its rainfall, which is greatest in March and April. 
The period from June to September is dry; and by 
February or March the trees are in bloom. By a 
happy choice in construction it has been planned 
upon exceptionally generous lines which, although 
imparting to the outskirts a desolate aspect, have 

36 



PROVINCE OF SAMARKAND 

been the cause of securing to the community a num- 
ber of spacious squares, around which are placed the 
barracks and certain parks. The principal square, 
named after General Ivanoff, a former Governor 
of the province, is Ivanovski Square. Another inter- 
esting memento of the Russian conquest of Tur- 
kestan is situated between the military quarter and 
the green avenues of the Russian town, in a spot 
where the heroes who fell in the defence of the citadel 
in 1868 were buried. At the same place, too, a 
memorial has been erected to Colonel Sokovnin and 
Staff-Captain Konevski, who were killed in 1869. 

The population of Samarkand at the census of 
1897 was 54,900. 

According to the statistics of 1901, which are the 
most recently available, these figures had increased 
by a few thousands; they were then 58,194. 

Russians 10,621 Sarts 40,184 

Poles 315 Kirghiz 36 

Germans 378 Afghans 186 

Armenians 335 Persians 237 

Jews 4,949 Hindoos 10 

The native quarter, which is separated from the 
Russian town by the Abramovski Boulevard — so 
named in honour of General Abramoff, another 
military governor of the province — covers an area 
of 4629 dessiatines. It was built by Timur the 
Lame. The streets with few exceptions are narrow, 
winding, and unpaved; the houses are of baked mud, 
mean and cramped, with flat earthen roofs and no 
windows. The value of Government property in 

37 



AFGHANISTAN 

the Russian and native areas of the city is estimated 
at 4,077,681 roubles. The city revenue approxi- 
mates 147,616 roubles. The native quarter is the 
great commercial centre of the province and the 
trade returns for the city and its surrounding dis- 
trict amount to 17,858,900 roubles out of 24,951,320 
roubles for the entire province. Of the squares 
the most celebrated is the Registan, with a length 
of 35 sagenes and width of 30 sagenes. It is 
bounded by three large mosques : the Tillah Kori — 
the Gold Covered; Ulug Beg; and Shir Dar — the 
Lion Bearing. 

The Registan is the heart of ancient Samarkand. 
Prior to the advent of the Russians, pardon and 
punishment were dealt from it to the people by their 
rulers, executions performed and wars declared, as 
the authorities pleased. Even up to the present 
day the Registan has preserved in some degree its 
importance as a popular tribune. From it self- 
constituted orators, holy men and politicians, ex- 
pound their doctrines before a people gathered 
together from the most distant corners of the con- 
tinent of Asia. The Registan is only one feature of 
this delightful city; for here, too, are the stately 
ruins of the Bibi Khanum, tomb of the wife of Timur, 
and the Gur Amir where Timur's remains lie amid 
a scene eloquent in its simple grandeur. Although, 
unfortunately, this building has been spoilt by 
attempts at restoration, its encrusted tiles are as 
beautiful as when they were made, 400 years ago. 
Here, too, is the resting-place of the Shah Zindeh; 

38 



PROVINCE OF SAMARKAND 

and in its Urda or ancient citadel, now a weak, 
bastioned fort, is the Kok Tash — the coronation- 
stone of the descendants of Timur. The charm of 
the Gur Amir is supreme. Within its dome, before 
the horse-hair standard, the sheer force of associa- 
tion and the infinite suggestion of the spot make one 
feel the great presence of this renowned soldier. 
Beneath the cupola there is a nephrite cenotaph; 
perhaps, as Colonel C. E. de la Poer Beresford has 
said, the largest block of green jade in the world. 
Close to it other tombs, lighter in colour, are erected 
to the memory of Ulug Beg and Mir Sayid, Timur's 
grandson and tutor. Around these is a carved gyp- 
sum balustrade and in the crypt below, under a 
simple brick tomb, lies the vanquisher of Toktamish 
Khan, of Sultan Bayazid, of Persia, the Caucasus, 
and India — Timur himself. 

In its economic aspect Samarkand occupies a very 
important position. Although scarcely serving as a 
mart to the produce of British India and Afghanistan, 
it is nevertheless a great emporium of trade. The 
roads, leading to the town or from it, as the case 
may be, are an index of its wide-reaching commer- 
cial influence. They run from Samarkand to Karki 
on the Amu Daria; and to Tashkent via Jizak; while 
Khojand, Khokand, Namangan, Andijan, Margelan, 
and Osh are all in direct communication with it. 
Caravans from the east and north, from Persia and 
from China, carts perched on two gigantic wheels 
or transport bullocks laden with skins, even sheep 
carrying small packages — all are impressed into ser- 

39 



AFGHANISTAN 

vice and seem to be revolving in a constant stream 
round Samarkand. There is a steady traffic and the 
numerous bazaars are the centre of a brisk trade in 
skins and pelts. Unlike the bazaars of Bokhara, 
along tHe sides of which the merchants have their 
stalls, the passageways are open to the heavens. 
After the wonderful picture of Asiatic life presented 
by Bokhara, there are those who complain of a feel- 
ing of disappointment at the more subdued cur- 
rent which flows through Samarkand. Nevertheless 
the town has a charming setting. The snow-peaks 
of the Hissar chain and the curtain of enchanting 
fields and spreading vineyards, which hides the hid- 
eous aspect of the Kara Kum, add to the pleasure 
which is derived from the delicate mingling of the 
colours of the street life. There is, indeed, a very 
special type found in the bazaars of Bokhara and 
Samarkand. Dressed in the choicest of silks, so 
soft that it suggests the rustle of the wind through 
the peach-trees and dyed in tones of yellow, green, 
and brown, in shades of magenta and purple, in a 
note of blue reflecting the sky or touched with the 
blush of a red rose, are men of fine stature. They 
move with their long-skirted gowns clasped at the 
waist and their silken trousers tucked into brown, 
untanned boots, the seams of which are delicately 
embroidered. Every individual reserves to himself 
a most exclusive manner, representing the embodi- 
ment of dignity. There is such an air of content- 
ment about the gaily-clad crowd as it passes from 
stall to stall; such perfect self-possession, suggested 

40 



PROVINCE OF SAMARKAND 

humility, and independence, that the difference in size 
between Bokhara and Samarkand goes unnoticed; 
the atmosphere being no less pleasing, the picture 
no less acceptable, in the smaller city than in the 
capital. 

As the administrative focus of the Syr Daria Prov- 
ince, Tashkent is the principal city of Russian Tur- 
kestan and the seat of the Governor-General. The 
Russian quarter at once recalls memories of other 
spheres of Central Asia. The streets are wide and 
long. Dusty but much frequented, they are bor- 
dered by high, white poplars set in double rows, 
while upon each side there run the gurgling waters 
of the irrigation canals. The city is laid out in a 
sector of a circle, three great boulevards radiating 
from the cathedral, a handsome, octagonal build- 
ing in freestone. Surmounted by the dome and 
golden cross, which mark in Russia all Orthodox 
places of worship, it occupies the centre of Kon- 
stantinovski Square. It contains the remains of 
General von Kauffman, Governor-General of Russian 
Turkestan between 1867 and 1882 and, incidentally, 
conqueror of Khiva in 1873 and of Samarkand in 
1868. He died May 4, 1882. 



41 



CHAPTER IV 

THE DISTRICT OF TASHKENT 

TASHKENT, situated upon the slopes of the 
Tian Shan 172 sagenes above sea-level, lies 
in the midst of an extensive oasis whose fer- 
tile acres are watered by the river Chirchik and its 
tributaries. January is the coldest month, while 
July is the hottest. The prevailing breezes are north 
and north-east; but the characteristic peculiarity of 
the climate is the absence of wind, which makes 
the high temperature in the summer particularly 
oppressive. Spring weather begins in March; the 
hot season, commencing in May, continues until the 
middle of August. Speaking generally the place 
possesses the attributes of the climate in the plains 
of Central Asia, while distinguished by its greater 
yearly rainfall — 384 millimetres — in consequence 
of the proximity of the mountains. The drinking- 
water question, an ever-attendant difficulty in Cen- 
tral Asia, is no less acute in Tashkent, constituting 
a serious drawback to conditions of life there. An 
ample supply of water is available for irrigation, the 
Chirchik River, as well as numerous wells and springs, 
being diverted for this purpose. 

The Russian quarter, founded in 1865 after the 

42 



THE DISTRICT OF TASHKENT 

capture of the native town from the Khan of Kho- 
kand upon June 15 by the Russian forces under 
General Chernaieff, is separated from the native 
by the Angar Canal. It is divided into official and 
residential areas, and contains many large streets. 
The Sobornaya, in which are situated the best shops, 
is perhaps more animated than any other thor- 
oughfare in the town, while the Romano vski Street, 
which crosses the official quarter, is devoted princi- 
pally to the Government offices. Three wide streets 
— the Gospitalnaya, Dukhovskaya, and the Kai- 
luski Prospekt — along which it is proposed to erect 
business premises, also run from this quarter to the 
station. The residential part is of much later con- 
struction; its population is more scattered, the houses 
are surrounded with dense gardens and the streets 
are wider. The houses in each section are, for the 
most part, single storeyed. The chief public works 
are the Alexandrovski Park, Konstantinovski Square, 
Gorodskoi Garden, and the gardens surrounding 
the residence of the Governor-General. The Tur- 
kestan Public Library, founded by General von 
Kauffman with the object of furthering the educa- 
tion of the country, now contains more than 40,000 
volumes. 

The permanent garrison is never less than 10,000 
men. Barracks and store-house accommodation for 
military supplies abound in the place. Between the 
spacious station and the Russian city, a distance 
of one verst, there are very commodious infantry 
quarters. A long row of buildings, somewhat more 

43 



AFGHANISTAN 

remote and erected upon slightly rising ground, con- 
tains the lines of the Cossack establishment. The 
climate of Tashkent is too unhealthy to be endured 
in the hot weather. In summer the garrison moves 
to Chigman, a defile 671 sagenes above sea-level, 
situated 80 or 90 versts beyond the town on the 
river Chirchik, where there is a sanatorium for 
the troops. The families of the officers usually 
pass the season at the village of Troitzki, 25 versts 
from Tashkent. Five versts from the city is 
Nikolski, the first Russian settlement founded in 
the Syr Daria Province. Lying between it and the 
Russian town is the native quarter. Recalling 
Andijan, Margelan, Khokand, and Osh, it lacks the 
animation of the streets of Bokhara and is destitute 
of the architectural beauties of Samarkand. Sur- 
rounded on three sides by gardens, the fourth side 
touches the Russian town with which it is connected, 
as also with the station, by means of a horse tram- 
way. It is divided into four parts called respectively 
Kukchinski, Sibzyarski, Shaikhantaurski, and Bish 
Agatchski. Each is separated into districts, these 
sub-divisions totalling 206 in all. 

The two quarters of Tashkent occupy to-day an 
area of 20 square versts. Forty years ago the site 
of the Russian settlement covered no more ground 
that that required by the village which contained 
the garrison. This original section has now disap- 
peared, becoming merged as time passed and the 
colony expanded with the Fortress Esplanade, while 
the population has similarly increased. In May, 

44 



THE DISTRICT OF TASHKENT 

1871, the combined figures of the native and Russian 
colony gave only 2701 inhabitants. In 1901 the 
census returns showed the population to be: 

RUSSIANS NATIVES 

Men 16,416 Men 70,903 

Women 16,926 Women 59,019 

Total 33,342 Total 129.922 



45 



CHAPTER V 

TEE DISTRICT OF MERV 

ALTHOUGH the importance of Merv, as a 
military district, has increased since the 
Orenburg-Tashkent Railway was opened, 
the numbers of the resident population continue to 
decline. This proceeds from the unhealthy condi- 
tions that obtain locally. Malaria, the most preva- 
lent complaint, runs a very level course throughout 
the year. Between July and November it becomes 
exceptionally virulent; and a recent Medical Com- 
mission returned the causes of the sickness in Merv 
as due solely to the presence of a specific organism 
which, passing from the soil into the w^ater, was 
absorbed by the inhabitants. So rife is the disease 
that it is estimated that not one person escapes its 
attacks in the course of the year. The highest sick- 
rate occurs between the months of July and Novem- 
ber, when it is responsible for 80 per cent, of the 
"Daily State" in the garrison and district hospitals. 
Merv malaria generally attacks the liver and kid- 
neys, rapidly affecting the spleen. Every effort has 
been made to cope with its ravages. Among the 
attempts was a scheme for the introduction of a 
new system of irrigation and the purification of the 

46 



THE DISTRICT OF MERV 

water system, to which the Minister of War assigned 
63,000 roubles. Hitherto the drinking-water, derived 
from the Murghab, has been altogether unfit for 
consumption. Apart from possible contamination 
in the sources of the water-supply, there is no 
doubt that much of the malaria in Merv arises from 
constant displacement of soil in the oasis; similar 
conditions prevail, usually for three or four years, 
in all tropical and semi-tropical countries when- 
ever agricultural or other development requires the 
breaking of ground. 

Certain features encountered in Merv — such as 
groups of chaffering natives, clusters of small, open 
shops, dusty trees, open drains, and sweltering heat 
— are strangely reminiscent of India, but the absence 
of punkahs and the high price of ice prove that the 
Russians in Central Asia are indifferent to comfort. 
Even the hotels make no attempt to relieve the effect 
of the temperature; while, in general, the houses 
are built without verandahs and the windows are 
unfitted with jalousies. Within the houses, too, con- 
ditions are most trying, the policy of every one 
being to admit the flies and exclude the air. Trade 
manages to thrive; and a weekly market is held on 
Mondays upon a plain to the east of the town. 
Thither all roads converge; thronged with two- 
wheeled Persian carts, rll-fed baggage horses bur- 
dened with goods, and gurgling camels. Standing 
solitary and forlorn is the patient ass whose lament 
is so eloquently described by Mr. Shoemaker, where 
that author says: 

47 



AFGHANISTAN 

Oh, my brother from that far western land where even a 
little ass like me has some chance to sleep in quiet, blame me 
not, I beseech you, that I weep. You have seen how digni- 
fied and self-contained my brethren are in Egypt; but there 
we never carry more than two of the heathen at the most, 
whereas here, you see, it is always three and sometimes 
four; therefore I weep, oh my brother, and will not be com- 
forted. 

Fair days in the town bazaars are held upon Sun- 
days and Thursdays, when the Hebrew, Persian, and 
Armenian merchants are surrounded by crowds of 
Tekkes from neighbouring villages. Disposed for 
sale are the innumerable commodities of the Middle 
East — rice from Meshed; fruits from Samarkand; 
silk, sweetmeats, and velvet from Bokhara; cheap 
cutlery, trinkets, leather goods, and samovars from 
Russia; beautiful embroidery and shawls from the 
stores of the wealthier merchants; carpets from 
Herat; sheepskins from the country-side; plough- 
shares and knives from local forges; and relics of 
Old Merv. Prices are high; but the Turkomans 
make their purchases very willingly, unconscious of 
the contrast between their present peaceful demean- 
our and the attitude which distinguished them 
when they were robbers of the country-side. 

Apart from the garrison the population numbers 
less than 5000. 

The revenues derived from the native town amount 
to 42,000 roubles a year and the volume of business 
annually turned over is a little short of 100,000 
roubles. The prosperity of the place is attested 
by the individual wealth of merchants attending 

48 



THE DISTRICT OF MERV 

the bazaars. Many of these men live in spacious 
houses, the majority of the natives frequenting the 
bazaar being well-to-do and apparently contented. 
Trade is brisk and, as the Russians have imposed 
but a few taxes and the Turkomans are exempt from 
military service, no particular difl&culty attends the 
earning of the daily wage. 

It is said occasionally that the disasters which 
attended Russia in Manchuria have stimulated the 
ambitions and desires of the Mohammedan popula- 
tion of Asiatic Russia to throw off the yoke of Mus- 
covite rule. Hence it is possible that the reading of 
the existing situation in Central Asia, which is here 
presented, may not be accepted. In point of fact, 
the Mohammedan attitude towards Russian rule in 
Mid-Asia has no relation whatever to the outcome 
of the late war in Manchuria; nor was it influenced 
in any way by the developments of that struggle. 
Contrary belief is based upon the impression that 
the animus entertained against the Russians by the 
races of British India, where it is now assumed by 
the ignorant and very foolish that Russian arms 
would be at once defeated in any Indo-Russian 
conflict, exists equally among the Mohammedan 
population of Asiatic Russia. Native opinion in 
Central Asia knew almost nothing of the course, 
character, and result of the Russo-Japanese War. 
Even if suspicions of the actual results were enter- 
tained, the constant display of troops, which was 
made in all Central Asiatic centres of importance 
during the progress of the campaign, would have dis- 

49 



AFGHANISTAN 

pelled the belief that the Russian military resources 
were straitened. Apart from this fact, the public in 
Central Asia were supplied only with those versions 
of the truth which were most acceptable — and use- 
ful — to the Russian amour propre. It will be seen, 
therefore, that wherever Mohammedan feeling may 
be opposed in the Tsar's Asiatic dominions to Rus- 
sian domination, such sentiment is spontaneous and 
as deeply rooted or easily appeased as the circum- 
stances which may have excited it dictate. It is 
well to understand this phase of the situation in 
Central Asia since, in itself, it is very significant. 

Merv, perhaps, is a case in point. On the surface 
the aspect of affairs there is placid enough; but the 
Russians in Central Asia have read so many effective 
lessons to their subject races that at best opinion 
upon the possible chances of an outbreak is a blind 
hazard. Doubtless religious and racial prejudices 
are smouldering; yet, if there is any feeling of dis- 
content, it must arise from an animosity born of 
pure fanaticism. Certainly the Russian rule in 
Mid-Asia is tolerant — now that the lesson has been 
taught — and there is neither religious nor educa- 
tional interference. Moreover trade, fostered by 
very careful protection, prospers; and at least one 
secret of success in any Central Asian system of gov- 
ernment is to let well alone and appeal to the vulgar 
through their pocket. This principle the Russians 
support with admirable patience, taking precautions 
at the same time that their benevolent administra- 
tion shall not be endangered by too much license 

50 



THE DISTRICT OF MERV 

in the matter of importing or possessing arms. A 
native rising would be difficult upon this account 
alone; while it should be remembered, too, that 
many years of leisured ease have brought about con- 
siderable deterioration in the instinctive passion for 
rape, bloodshed, and plunder, which distinguished, 
only a few years ago, the inhabitants of these Cen- 
tral Asian Khanates. 

Again, always presupposing the steady loyalty of 
the great bulk of the European troops, Russia has 
not enrolled any large number of native recruits in 
regions beyond the Caspian Sea; although her policy 
in the Caucasus has not been quite so exclusive. 
The success of any native insurrectionary movement 
in Trans-Caspia would depend, therefore, upon the 
precise" amount of support that it received from any 
disaffected sections of the Caucasian establishment 
that might be incorporated with the Russo-European 
army on service in the Khanates. No doubt the 
wide area covered by the rebellion in the Caucasus 
will encourage the Caucasian element in the Trans- 
Caspian army to be troublesome; and, since the 
Caucasian races in a measure are akin with the Cen- 
tral Asian peoples, mutual sympathy may give rise 
to positive revolt in Central Asia. Between the 
European soldiers and the native races, however, 
there is little in common; and unless revolutionary 
agents from St. Petersburg, Moscow, or the larger 
centres of disturbance contaminate the adherence 
of the men, there is really nothing to cause them to 
listen to any seditious overtures which might emanate 

51 



AFGHANISTAN 

from native sources. It is very easy in Central Asia 
to remove the rails of the permanent way or to inter- 
rupt telegraphic communication, since the railway 
and the wires run for hundreds of miles unguarded 
and at the mercy of any wandering, discontented 
miscreant. Such instances of disaffection would be 
sporadic. Difficulties of combination — if the great 
distances separating Khiva, Merv, Bokhara, and 
Tashkent were ignored, which they cannot be if 
the position of affairs is to be appraised properly 
— would alone prevent any simultaneous co-opera- 
tion; while whatever unanimity might be disclosed 
by actively hostile parties of native or European 
revolutionaries, the forces at the disposal of the 
military authorities must enable them to suppress 
the movement rapidly and at once. 

Of course the agitation in European Russia can- 
not leave Russians in Central Asia unaffected; con- 
tinuation of the widespread irruptions of disorder 
in European Russia obviously imparts a new and 
most serious complexion to affairs in Asiatic Russia. 
Moreover signs of unrest, in consequence of interfer- 
ence by revolutionary agents from St. Petersburg, 
have already been displayed. At Askhabad the offi- 
cers were locked in their quarters; at Kushkinski 
Post 200 soldiers joined in a strike of railway and 
telegraph officials. Further, at the instigation of 
Sokoloff, an engineer, and Simonoff, an engine-fitter, 
a variety of farcical intentions were proclaimed, the 
main outcome of this signal act of rebellion culmi- 
nating in a Httle temporary dislocation of the railway 

52 



THE DISTRICT OF MERV 

and telegraph services and the arrest of the ring- 
leaders. None the less, the activity of these revolu- 
tionary agents does constitute a possible menace to 
the peace of Mid- Asia; for, while the native popu- 
lation recks little of the wiles of European agitators 
and can be overawed by the authorities, the situa- 
tion, where it concerns the ultimate effect of the 
revolutionary propaganda upon the Russo-European 
army, rests upon the knees of the gods. There, un- 
fortunately, it must remain; emphasising the fact 
that, on account of the means of checking the dis- 
semination of revolutionary heresies and the growth 
of the operations of the agitators in Central Asia 
which the Russian authorities have at hand, the 
chances are much against any violent or widespread 
upheaval of the peace in these territories. 



53 



CHAPTER VI 

FROM TASHKENT TO MERV 

THE first station beyond Tashkent, travelling 
towards Merv, is Kauffmanskaya, where 
begins the practice of associating with the 
scenes of their conquests the names of officers who 
have achieved distinction in Turkestan. It is a 
pleasant custom and serves to perpetuate history in 
a manner which might be copied with advantage in 
India. In this instance General von Kauffman, who 
became eventually an aide-de-camp to the Tsar, was 
the first Governor-General of Russian Turkestan. 

Between Tashkent and Kauffmanskaya, which, 
although insignificant, is equipped with hospital 
accommodation for six patients, the railway crosses 
by an iron bridge of 8 sagenes the Salar River, 
itself a tributary of the more important Chirchik. 
The line then passes Zangi-ata and the post station 
of Nialbash, crossing the Kur Kulduk arik by an 
iron bridge 3 sagenes in length, and running near 
Vrevskaya through the Chirchik Valley, a region of 
special interest to archaeologists. Stari Tashkent or 
Old Tashkent, rich in historical associations, is in 
this neighbourhood. It was inhabited at one time 
by the Sakis, who, in bygone centuries, offered a 

54 



FROM TASHKENT TO MERV 

stubborn resistance to Alexander of Macedon. Now 
it is only an insignificant hamlet, mere flotsam which 
has been thrown up and left by the advancing tide 
of Russian conquest. Lying to the east of Stari 
Tashkent and opposite Earshul upon the left bank of 
the Chirchik River are the ruins of Shuturket or 
Ushturket — the Town of Camels; in the country, 
between it and Binket, by which name Tashkent is 
known among the natives, there are other ruins. 

After skirting Bodorodski and Kaunchi the station 
of Syr Darinskaya, lying about 1 verst from the 
hill and lake of Utch Tubeh, follows, the line crossing 
the Bossu-su arik by a second bridge of 5 sagenes. 
Until this point the general direction has been south- 
west. Ten versts from Syr Darinskaya station, at 
a' point where it crosses the Syr Daria by a four-span 
iron bridge 160 sagenes in length, the railway runs by 
the ancient fortress and lake of Urumbai and turns 
to the east to thread the hills which surround Utch 
Tubeh Lake. 

The point now arrives where the train enters 
the region distinguished by the Emperor Nicholas I 
Canal, an extensive system of irrigation from the 
waters of the Syr Daria. These works, which the 
Ministry of Agriculture introduced, have brought 
more than 100,000 acres of the Golodnaya steppe 
under colonisation. It is due to the initiative and 
generosity of the Grand Duke Nicholas Konstanti- 
novitch that the scheme was executed and its success 
is illustrated by the fact that seven villages — Niko- 
laievski, Nadejdinski, Verkhni, Nijni Volinski, Kon- 

55 



AFGHANISTAN 

nogvardeiski, Obyetovanni, and Romanovski — have 
been established upon the reclaimed areas. In the 
main they are devoted to the cultivation of the 
smaller crops, although one or two are given up to 
the growing of cotton. The prosperity of the under- 
taking entails elaborate precautions; in order that 
the works should be unobstructed the head waters 
of the system are watched continuously by relays of 
guards. 

The Golodnaya zone of cultivation extends only 
a verst or so beyond Golodnaya station; between this 
little oasis and Chernaievo, the next station, there 
is a barren wilderness. After leaving Golodnaya 
and crossing the Emperor Nicholas I Canal by an 
iron bridge 8 sagenes in length, the line proceeds 
north-east beyond the Syr Daria, where it turns 
sharply to the east in order to make the junction 
with the main line from Krasnovodsk to Andijan. 
Owing to the lack of cultivation and the scarcity of 
population no commercial importance can be ascribed 
to Chernaievo. Attached to the little station is a 
small hospital with a capacity of 10 beds, while the 
railway workshops employ a permanent staff of 100 
workmen. The depot at this point, on account of 
the junction between the line from Tashkent and the 
extension to Andijan, is out of proportion with the 
requirements of the neighbourhood. Of course, here 
as at every station on the line, there is a large store 
of naphtha, 50,000 poods being held against emer- 
gency in the naphtha reservoir. 

In relation to Chernaievo, it would be a pity to 

56 



FROM TASHKENT TO MERV 

avoid mention of the distinguished soldier who, sub- 
sequently Governor-General of Turkestan and dying 
in disgrace in August of 1898, gave his name to the 
place. Under happier circumstances Chernaieff might 
have become the Clive of Central Asia. It was he 
who, suffering defeat before Tashkent on October 
2, 1854, and determining to remove so signal a stain 
from the prestige of the Russian forces, repeated 
his attack at a moment when he had received ex- 
plicit orders from Alexander II to refrain from 
doing so. With the Imperial despatches in his 
pocket he led his small forces to the onslaught and 
it was only when victory had been secured that he 
made himself acquainted with his instructions. The 
reply he despatched to his august sovereign is as 
historical as the famous signal which Nelson dis- 
played at Trafalgar. "Sire," he wrote, "Your Maj- 
esty's order, forbidding me to take Tashkent, has 
reached me only in the city itself which I have taken 
and place at your Majesty's feet." The Tsar was 
angry at the breach of discipline and, although he 
accepted the fruits of General Chernaieff's daring, 
he never restored his officer to favour. Superseded 
by General Romanovski and stung to the quick by 
this treatment, Chernaieff retired from the service, 
a broken-hearted man. 

Beyond Chernaievo, situated amid most arid sur- 
roundings and in a locality where the water is salt, is 
Obrutchevo, so called in honour of the former Chief 
of the General Staff, General Obrutcheff. Nine 
versts further is Lomakino, which derives its name 

57 



AFGHANISTAN 

from General Lomakin, an oflScer of repute in the 
Turkoman Expedition of 1879. Between Loma- 
kino and Jizak the line enters the province of Sam- 
arkand. 

Jizak station, named after a district town in the 
province of Samarkand, is situated in the valley of 
the Sanzar River in a locality which is both thickly 
populated and well cultivated. At the workshops 
there is only a staff of nine workmen, while the rail- 
way depot possesses little more than engine sheds 
and a naphtha reservoir of 10,000 poods. The water- 
supply of the station is drawn from the Sanzar River. 
Water for the consumption of the Russian quarter of 
the town, which lies at the foot of the northern slope 
of the Nura Mountains, % versts from the railway, 
comes from the Russki arik. 

In consequence of the deficiency of fresh water 
Jizak is an unhealthy town, more malaria prevailing 
in the locality than in any other part of Turkestan, 
with the exception of the Murghab and Kushk Val- 
leys. The Russian quarter, which was formerly the 
Kluchevi fortress, possesses a number of public gar- 
dens. There are only thirty-six private houses in the 
settlement and these, in the main, are occupied by 
officials. The public buildings include two schools, 
a military hospital, a military Orthodox church, the 
Chancellery of the District Governor, the District 
Treasury, and other offices. The population at the 
last census was 17,000. 

The native quarter is of far greater commercial 
importance than the Russian town and is situated 

58 



FROM TASHKENT TO MERV 

3 versts from it. Indeed, the latter is almost solely 
a cantonment. 

The town revenue is 22,842 roubles and the value 
of Government property rather less than 600,000 
roubles. There are no hotels in either quarter. 

The native bazaars are supposed to be identical 
with the town of Gaza through which the armies of 
Alexander passed in the fourth century B.C. More 
recently the Russians converted it into a strong mil- 
itary post. At the time when it was assaulted by 
the Russian forces under General Romanovski, upon 
October 18, 1856, it was regarded as one of the most 
powerful fortresses in Central Asia. In those days 
the town was surmounted by a triple wall, 4 sa- 
genes in thickness and 3J sagenes in height. High 
towers defended the interior walls, while upon the 
outer wall were mounted 53 pieces of artillery. At 
that time the strength of the garrison under the com- 
mand of Alayar Khan was returned at 10,000 men. 

A few versts before Jizak the line, running in a 
westerly direction along the southern border of the 
Golodnaya desert, crosses by an iron bridge, 8 sa- 
genes in length, the Sais Khaneh ravine. Beyond 
Jizak and after passing through Milyautinskaya it 
enters the Ilyan Uta defile, through which flows the 
Sanzar River. This defile is the only existing pass 
in the Nuratinski Range and contains the famous 
Gates of Tamerlane. Beyond the gates there is the 
station of Kuropatkino, named after General Kuro- 
patkin who so long presided over the destinies of 
Russia in Central Asia. From here the line pro- 

59 



AFGHANISTAN 

ceeds to cross the eastern slope of the Nura Range; 
barely 30 versts farther on it arrives at Rostov- 
tsevo, which takes its name from a former Military- 
Governor of the Ferghana province, Count Rostov- 
tseff. Between Kuropatkino and this station the line 
crosses at the foot of the ascent of the Golun Moun- 
tains a bridge, 5 sagenes in length, over the Balun- 
gur arik. From the slopes of the Golun Tau the 
railway traverses the watershed of the Zerafshan 
and Sanzar Rivers, reaching at 10 versts from Kuro- 
patkino the highest elevation on the whole line, 403 
sagenes above sea-level. From this point the line 
then descends to Rostovtsevo, from where, after a 
short run of 30 versts, it arrives at Samarkand. 

With Rostovtsevo there commences without doubt 
the most interesting section of the journey between 
Tashkent and Samarkand. The market of Samar- 
kand has spread its influence for many miles along 
the line; and, as a consequence, there is a welcome 
note of freshness in the scene. In addition to the 
prosperity naturally suggested by the spectacle of a 
flourishing oasis, the railway affords a fleeting inspec- 
tion of two important bridges. The first, an iron 
bridge of seven spans and 56 sagenes in length, 
crosses the Zerafshan River, leaving on the right the 
Ark of Tamerlane and on the left a bold, lofty moun- 
tain crag. It rises from two stone buttresses and 
is supported by six iron pillars. The spans are 8 
sagenes in length and composed of four sections, the 
whole work reflecting the cantilever principle. It 
has been adapted to traffic, vehicles passing along 

60 



FROM TASHKENT TO MERV 

either side of the permanent way. Beyond these 
landmarks the railway picks its way down the rocky 
declivity of the Zerafshan watershed towards the 
undulating, cultivated lands which extend between 
Chupan Ata ridge and the second bridge, which, 
thrown across the deep Obi Slab ravine 2 versts 
outside Samarkand, possesses a length of 30 sagenes. 
It is constructed in iron of 3 spans, supported by 
stone abutments upon two stone buttresses. 

The station of Samarkand, second in importance 
to Krasnovodsk, is 1415 versts from Krasnovodsk 
and 332 versts from Tashkent. In the station square 
there are a church, a hospital of twenty -five beds, 
two second-class schools, w^orkshops and railway 
yards affording daily employment for 160 men. 
Like most stations of the first class it acts as a me- 
dium of distribution to a wide area, stimulating 
not only the industrial interests throughout the 
province but imparting also an impetus to the agri- 
cultural activities of the neighbourhood. 

Djuma, the first station beyond Samarkand, is sit- 
uated in a level, densely populated country. Barely 
thirty miles distant, and with it equally a station of 
the fourth class, is Nagornaya, which in turn gives 
place to Katta Kurgan. This town, an important 
district centre in the Samarkand Province, lies close 
to the railway in the midst of much luxuriant vege- 
tation. Its altitude above sea-level is rather more 
than 222 sagenes. The population numbers 10,219: 

MOHAMMEDANS JEWS BTTSSIANS 

8689 1281 249 

61 



AFGHANISTAN 

Its streets are very wide and charmingly planted with 
high trees — poplars, acacias, willows, and white 
ash — watered by ariks supplied from the Narpai 
stream, itself a tributary of the Zerafshan River. 
Quite the most prominent feature is a large public 
garden surrounding the house of the Governor, while 
in connection with the public buildings there is a 
military church, a military hospital, a general hos- 
pital of twenty-five beds, and a Russian native 
school. There are, of course, the usual district 
offices. Military headquarters occupies a building 
to itseK, a second affording domicile to the base 
staff of the Eighth Turkestan Rifle Battalion. 
The native bazaar, an imposing centre, contains: 

Mosques (smaller) 38 Theological schools 2 

Synagogues 1 Native schools 30 

In the main bazaar there are some 300 shops, the 
business transacted at them being concerned with 
the cotton industry and the production of vegetable 
oils. There is no hotel in either part of the town but 
there is an officers' club in the Russian quarter. The 
general revenue from all sources is about 38,000 
roubles and the largest industrial concern associated 
with the trade of the district is the Turkestan Cot- 
ton Company, of which the annual trading balance 
is considerably in excess of half a million roubles. 
The development of cotton in the neighbourhood, to 
which the Turkoman villages Mitana Pefshanba and 
Chardar devote their energies, promises to become 
a highly valuable venture. 

A few versts beyond Katta Kurgan the line crosses 

62 



FROM TASHKENT TO MERV 

the border of the dominions of the Amir of Bokhara. 
The first station beyond the frontier is Zirabulak, so 
called from heights which frown down upon the rail- 
way from close at hand. This little ridge of hills 
forms an interesting link with the Russian conquest 
of Turkestan; it was here that a column under Gen- 
eral von Kauffman routed the Bokharan forces on 
July 2, 1868. The battle practically decided the Rus- 
sian mastery of Central Asia, the peace concluded by 
the Amir Sayid Mozaffar Eddin having been main- 
tained down to the present time. The rich vegetation 
distinguishing the locality continues as far as the next 
station, Ziadin, where the line enters a cultivated 
zone which is watered from the Zerafshan and the 
Narpai streams. The town possesses a native popu- 
lation of 8000, with a revenue of rather less than 
16,000 roubles. Traffic passing through the neigh- 
bourhood is concerned chiefly with the importation 
of goods from Russia and the export of cotton. Be- 
yond Ziadin, which is administered by an important 
Beg, the line runs to Kermine, a station of the third 
class constructed to meet the convenience of the pres- 
ent Amir of Bokhara, who, previous to ascending the 
throne, had been the Beg of Kermine. The town, 
which has a population of 12,000, is dependent almost 
entirely upon the proceeds of the cotton industry. 
The native fort, standing in the town, has been con- 
verted into a Russian garrison, a battalion of the 
Turkestan Rifles occupying the post. 

Melik, a small station occupying a position at the 
point where the line from Tashkent meets the Zeraf- 

63 



AFGHANISTAN 

shan River, has, unfortunately, nothing with which 
to commend itself. The surrounding steppe is des- 
titute of vegetation and only sparsely inhabited. At 
Kizil steppe, which follows, there are a depot and 
workshops for a permanent staff of eighteen men. It 
stands within easy proximity of the four centres, Cidj 
Duvan, Adiz Abad, Vaganzi, and Bustan, where there 
is a combined population of 20,000. 

The cultivation of cotton is the prominent charac- 
teristic of this region, and Kuyu Mazar, the next sta- 
tion, entirely derives its prosperity from the industry. 
In its immediate neighbourhood, moreover, there are 
several hishlaks devoted to it. A little further on 
the line enters a region of sandy clay which, con- 
tinuing for some distance, finally gives place to the 
areas of the fertile oasis that surrounds Boldiara. 

Kagan, the station for Bokhara, belongs to the first 
class. It is situated 1182 versts from Krasnovodsk, 
565 versts from Tashlcent, and ranks third among the 
stations of the Central Asian Railway, only yielding 
pride of place to Krasnovodsk and Askhabad. The 
station is erected upon ground specially granted by 
the Amir for the purpose, the Russian settlement of 
New Bokhara also being placed at this point. The 
native town of Bokhara, the capital of the Khanate 
and connected with the main station by a branch 
line, is 13 versts distant. It is the most important 
centre in the Khanate and maintains commercial rela- 
tions with Moscow, Nijninovgorod, Lodz, Siberia, 
India, Persia, and Afghanistan, the annual value of 
its business running into many millions of roubles. 

64 



FROM TASHKENT TO MERV 

There are several banks but only two of importance 
— the Russian Imperial Bank and the Russo-Chinese 
Bank. The residence of the Russian Political Agent 
is in New Bokhara and the Amir also has a palace 
there, constructed in hybrid Byzantine style. 

The population of the Russian settlement, returned 
at 6000 inhabitants and drawn from various nation- 
alities, includes the following European and Asiatic 
elements : 

Bussians 378 Hindoos 33 

Poles 40 Afghans 24 

Germans 24 Sarts 681 

Greeks 8 Persians 252 

Armenians 124 Kirghiz 92 

Jews 345 

The remainder is made up of subjects of the Amir. 
The Russian quarter also contains 130 brick bunga- 
lows, a hospital with 20 beds, barracks for the 3rd 
and 4th companies of the Second Railway Battal- 
ion, numerous shops, and military go-downs. 

The trade passing through Bokhara is very com- 
prehensive. It embraces cotton, skins, wool, cotton 
prints, sugar, and a large importation of Russian 
manufactures. The bazaars of the native city show a 
very varied assortment of silken fabrics, copper-ware, 
silver-work, carpets, leather, and weapons, attracting 
traders from India and Persia, besides the Turkoman 
and Khivan districts. 

The cultivated zone which lies around Bokhara and 
Kagan does not extend for any considerable distance 
beyond the immediate precincts of the capital of the 
Khanate. In running towards Merv the railway 

65 



AFGHANISTAN 

passes through a region where the water difficulty is 
perpetual. The waterless zone may be said to begin 
with Murgak, where water from the Zerafshan River 
is supplied in tanks by the railway. This system is 
also adopted for the next station, Yakatut, which 
although insignificant receives a comparatively im- 
portant volume of trade. Irrigation is not encouraged 
and the water coming by the railway is very care- 
fully distributed to a population that, including the 
large village of Yakatut and a few smaller hamlets, 
amounts in all to 3000 souls. 

Kara Kul follows as the line runs towards the south, 
and 10 versts distant from it there is the native town 
of the same name. At one time the centre of a large 
and flourishing oasis, the drifting sands from the Kara 
Kum have encroached until it has been ruined and 
the total population of the region reduced to 5000 
people. The place is watered by the Zerafshan, upon 
whose volume so much of the prosperity of Bokhara 
depends. This river, which was called by the an- 
cients the Polytimsetus, takes its rise in the glaciers 
of the Kara Mountains, 270 miles east of Samarkand. 
Its upper reaches resemble a succession of cataracts 
and it is altogether too shallow for navigation. The 
average width is 210 feet; more than 100 canals, some 
of which are 140 feet broad, are supplied from this 
source of Bokhara's greatness. The capital of the 
Khanate is fed by one of them, called the Shari 
Rud, and over 35 feet in width. The river reaches 
its full volume during the winter and the spring. 
Three versts before Kara Kul, at a point where the 

66 



FROM TASHKENT TO MERV 

stream breaks up into a series of small feeders, a wide 
bridge, 15 sagenes in length, affords passage to the 
railway. 

In spite of diminishing importance Kara Kul still 
attracts and disperses a certain volume of trade, the 
bulk of which is associated with the cotton factory 
of M. Levine and a distillery controlled by a French 
syndicate, the two properties being situated close to 
the station. 

Beyond Kara Kul, as far as Khoja Davlet, there is 
a considerable area of cultivation. With this station 
the agricultural possibilities of the quarter, due in the 
main to irrigation by the waters of the Oxus, come to 
an end and the line begins to pass through the shift- 
ing sands of Sundukli. From this point, too, the 
growth of the saxaoul is promoted as a protection to 
the railway from the sand drifts. At Farab station, 
where the growth and cultivation of sand shrubs has 
been studied, and where there is a special nursery 
covering five dessiatines, some little success in this 
direction has been attained. Unfortunately the 
moving sands are the great and ever-present menace 
to the prosperity of this neighbourhood. In contrast 
with these outlying edges of the district where there 
is nothing but a waste of salt marshes and sand dunes, 
there is a wonderful wealth of vegetation along the 
banks of the river. The station workshops, where 
some eighty workmen are daily employed, the small 
hospital, the railway buildings, and the technical 
school are embowered by trees of the most luxuriant 
growth. None the less Farab, although associated 

67 



AFGHANISTAN 

with the headquarters of the Oxus steamers, is too 
close to Charjui to be of much importance. 

Charjui, opposite to Farab at the crossing of the 
Oxus, Hes 1070 versts from Krasnovodsk and 677 
versts from Tashkent. The town is situated in the 
midst of a fertile oasis lying along the banks of the 
Amu Daria. The Russian settlement is close to 
the station, but 16 versts away there is the native 
centre from which it derives its name. This border 
stronghold surmounts a hill to the south of the 
railway line, bearing in its rugged outline a faint 
resemblance to Edinburgh Castle. The settlement, 
nestling at its foot, contains the headquarters of the 
17th Turkestan Rifle Battalion. The local force 
amounts to one battalion of Turkestan Rifles and one 
squadron of Cossacks. The Russian quarter, built 
upon ground presented by the Amir to the Russian 
Government, covers a wide area upon the left bank 
of the stream and extends along both sides of the 
railway. The point is of extreme interest, since it 
is here that the original bridge over the Amu Daria 
was constructed. The new work, a magnificent steel 
girder affair only lately opened, takes the place of 
the earlier wooden structure which, some 4600 yards 
in length, withstood the effects of climate and the 
stream for many years. 

The trade and traflBc of Charjui, one of the most 
active stations on the Central Asian system, is as 
follows : 



FROM TASHKENT TO MERV 

PASSENGERS 

ARRIYALS DEPARTURES 

37,331 36,796 

IMPORTS 

Military stores 280,399 poods 

Refined sugar 63,534 

Sanded sugar 20,043 

Yarn and thread 26,320 

Kerosene 95,303 

Timber 325,390 

Manufactures 45,661 

Iron 34,287 

Spirits 13,709 

Wine grapes 13,681 

Green tea 21,373 

Rice 48,876 

Wteat flour 117,593 

Goods, various 714,175 

EXPORTS 

Raisins 10,985 poods 

Skins 12,321 " 

Manufactured goods 8,499 

Carpets 11,073 " 

Sheepskins 18,508 

Caracal 3,805 " 

Cottonseed 85,825 " 

Cotton 516,641 " 

Wool 104,243 " 

Goods, various 191,584 

The combined population of the town comprises 
7569: 





Russians 


Natives 




MEN 


WOMEN 


MEN 


WOMEN 


2247 


1254 


2651 


1417 



The Russian quarter contains: 

Houses 469 General hospital 1 

Schools 3 Military hospitals 2 

Clubs 2 

69 



AFGHANISTAN 

In addition to this there is an extensive botanical 
nursery, similar to that which exists at Farab and 
devoted to the same purpose. Equally with Farab 
it serves as headquarters for the Amu Daria flotilla, 
which plies between Patta Hissar on the south 
and Petro Alexandrovsk and Khiva on the north. 
Traffic upon the river has increased in propor- 
tion to the development of trade along the Central 
Asian Railway, the steamer and general commu- 
nication on the Amu Daria, taken in conjunction 
with the caravan routes between Charjui and the 
outlying parts of the Khanates of Bokhara and 
Khiva, combining to render it a point of supreme 
importance. 

As soon as the Oxus and Charjui have been left 
behind, only two stations remain before the frontier of 
the Trans -Caspian Province is reached. One of these 
two places, Barkhani, a small station of the fifth class, 
serves, with Charjui and Farab, for the experimen- 
tal production of desert shrubs. Between the Amu 
Daria and Barkhani the spreading vegetation, which 
changes the banks of the Amu Daria into verdant 
slopes, gives place to the Black Sands of Bokhara, 
the famous Kara Kum Desert. Six versts beyond 
the second place, Karaul Kuyu, the line crosses the 
Trans-Caspian frontier, proceeding through the heart 
of the Kara Kum. The first station in the desert is 
Repetek, where there are a small depot and workshops 
for a permanent staff of ten men. The water here, 
as well as for the next two stations, is brought from 
the Amu Daria at Charjui or from the Murghab at 

70 



FROM TASHKENT TO MERV 

Merv, according to the direction in which the train 
may be traveUing. 

From Repetek the Hne enters the Merv district. 
Passing Pesski, Uch Adja, and Ravnina, the first and 
last of which belong to the fourth degree and the 
remaining one to the third degree of stations, the line 
runs into Annenkovo, named after the famous con- 
structor of the Trans-Caspian Railway, General 
Annenkoff. The station itself lies in a hollow and 4 
versts before the train reaches it there begins that 
wonderful growth which Nature herself has supplied 
to resist the encroachment of the Black Sands. It is 
here that the desert shrub saxaoul, with its long pen- 
etrating roots — the great stand-by of the Russians 
in their fight against the sand — is encountered in 
its native state. Although special nurseries have 
been established at many stations for the cultivation 
of this shrub, the railway authorities employ its roots 
for firewood, encouraging the Tekkes in the surround- 
ing districts to bring it into the yards. As instances 
of the destruction with which this plant is assailed 
nearly 46,000 poods of saxaoul root are supplied 
annually to the railway authorities by the Tekkes 
at Ravnina, while 170,000 poods are brought to the 
authorities at Annenkovo by the Tekke gatherers in 
that part, the activities of these people creating a 
very serious prospect since the artificial cultivation 
of the shrub in the nurseries does not keep pace with 
its disappearance in the Veldt. 

Beyond Annenkovo there is Kurban Kala. One 
verst further on this gives place to Bairam Ali, 108 

71 



AFGHANISTAN 

sagenes above sea-level. The station adjoins tlie 
gardens of the Murghab Imperial Estate which, 
founded in 1887 by Imperial enterprise, the Tsar 
having sanctioned the restoration of certain irrigation 
works, has assisted in securing a full measure of pros- 
perity to these areas. Trim orchards and broad 
roads surround the station where huge piles of cotton 
may be seen awaiting transport, the evident prosper- 
ity of this smiling oasis affording striking contrast 
with the spectacle of Old Merv. Ruins, revealing 
a sombre vista of broken walls and shattered houses, 
the relics of a city which passed into decay in 1784, 
cover a space of forty square versts. It is the name 
of the chief of that city that is now perpetuated in the 
adjoining station, Bairam Ali. As the strong ruler 
of the countryside, he had held in check the robber 
tribes until he and his city were overthrown in their 
turn by Amir Murad, the founder of the Bokharan 
dynasty. 

The country round Bairam Ali is level and the 
place draws its water from the Murghab River. Its 
commercial importance is progressing and, at pres- 
ent, there is a steady volume of trade passing 
through it. 

The section of the railway from Tashkent now ter- 
minates at 905 versts from Tashkent and 842 versts 
from Krasnovodsk, after crossing the Tokhtamish 
arik by an eight-span iron girder bridge. This work 
rests upon iron piles, the length of the spans being 
15 sagenes each. The commercial importance of 
Merv, in view of the rapid development of its trade 

72 



FROM TASHKENT TO MERV 

with the Murghab Valley and the surrounding oases 
of Yulatan, Pendjeh, and Tejend, imparts to the town 
an economic significance little less than that which 
emanates from its strategic aspect. 

The station of Merv, as the junction from which 
commences the Murghab branch line, is particularly 
well constructed. There is a depot with spacious 
repairing yards and very commodious workshops, 
where 250 workmen are daily employed. In addi- 
tion there are extensive railway go-downs and quar- 
ters for the employees of the company. If these 
represent merely the requirements of the station, in a 
more general way there is a hospital with several 
beds, a building for the accommodation of emigrants 
and, in the immediate precincts of the station, bar- 
racks for the 2d Trans-Caspian Railway Battalion. 
Close to the station, which possesses special impor- 
tance because of being the only spot in a length of 200 
versts up and down the line where fresh water may 
be obtained, such water being derived from the Mur- 
ghab River, an iron bridge carries the railway across 
the river. The spans of the bridge are 30 sagenes 
and a paved carriage-way is laid upon either side of 
the metals. Beyond the bridge the road runs par- 
allel with the Central Asian Railway until it reaches 
the Murghab River. Down the banks of this stream 
it branches off towards the Kushk and Murghab Val- 
leys, holding solitary communion with the Murghab 
Valley Railway as far as the junction of the Pendjeh- 
Tanur Sangi extension with the line to Kushkinski 
Post. 

73 



AFGHANISTAN 

The appearance of Merv is monotonous. An 
absence of tropical foliage, the conventional charac- 
ter of the bungalows, and the broad, empty streets 
compose an exterior which is altogether desolate. 
The high temperature, which frequently exceeds 100 
degrees, crushes initiative, and possibly it is due to 
the glare of the sun and the thick dust which rises in 
white clouds from the roads, that the thoroughfares 
are deserted between sunrise and sunset. The Mur- 
ghab River divides the town into a commercial quar- 
ter, prominently situated upon the right bank 133 
sagenes above sea-level, and a military settlement 
upon the opposite bank but connected by a pontoon 
bridge. Within the military quarter there are the 
barracks, and the general offices of the Administra- 
tion, as well as a large garrison hospital and a military 
club. The civil section of the town contains a dis- 
trict hospital of fifteen beds and a casino, supported 
by the Government. The native bazaar is remote. 



74 



CHAPTER VII 

THE NORTHERN BORDER 

THE Amu Daria, the more modern rendering 
of the name of the classic Oxus, serves along 
the north and north-east of Afghanistan for 
a distance of 330 miles as the frontier between Afghan 
territory and the dominions of the Amir of Bokhara. 
Rising in the region of the Pamirs this river, which 
is among the most historical in Asia, falls into the 
Aral Sea after traversing more than 1400 miles. 
The area of its basin is estimated at 308,804 square 
kilometres, while for a space of 200 miles it flows 
through Bokharan territory, after which, for a further 
200 miles, it acts as the frontier between the Syr 
Daria Province and the Khanate of Khiva. 

Contributing to the volume of its upper waters 
are two principal streams, the Pamir and the Panja. 
The latter is the name by which the Upper Oxus 
is known. The word Panja, which is somewhat 
generic, is believed to refer to five streams existing in 
this region. It is related also to the names of the 
well-known Afghan forts of Kala Panja and Kala 
Bar Panja. It denotes the five fingers. It will be 
admitted that the existence of a sacred edifice erected 
over a stone bearing the imprint of the hand of 

75 



AFGHANISTAN 

Hazrat Ali, son-in-law of Mohammed, and situated 
in the vicinity of Kala Panja, is presumptive evi- 
dence of an affinity between the existence of the five 
streams and the shrine. Farther down the river, 
in Shignan, at Kala Bar Panja which means "The 
fort over the Panja," a fort has been constructed 
above a similar mark to that defining the position 
of Kala Panja. There is little doubt that some 
numerical quantity is expressed in the nomenclature. 
In this wilderness, which in winter is a world of 
snow and ice, there is another river, the Ak-su, so 
that there are three streams, the Pamir, Panja, and 
the Ak-su. This trio drains the Pamirs, the Ak-su 
uniting with the Panja at Kala Wamar, the others at 
Langar Kisht. The Pamir and the Ak-su rise amid 
the Nicholas glaciers which drain into Lake Victoria 
and Lake Chakmaktin; and, while neither of these 
lakes can be identified positively as the sole source 
of the Oxus, nor the Pamir River be said to represent 
its origin, rivers, glaciers, and lakes are associated 
very closely with its head waters. The larger lake, 
known as Lake Victoria, and discovered in 1838 by 
Wood, is situated on the Pamir River; the smaller 
lake, Lake Chakmaktin, is on the Ak-su. The 
Pamir Daria flows through the Great Pamir. It 
possesses direct connection with the Oxus at Langar 
Kisht. The Ak-su flows through the Little Pamir. 
Lake Chakmaktin, lying on the Little Pamir, is sit- 
uated 290 feet lower than Lake Victoria, which is 
13,390 feet above sea-level. Panja, the third stream, 
rises in the congeries of glaciers which lie immediately 

76 



THE NORTHERN BORDER 

below the Wakh-jir Pass — indisputably separate 
from the Nicholas glacier and without any connec- 
tion with the two lakes. The five rivers which make 
up the waters of the Panja or Oxus are the Pamir, 
Panja, Ak-su or Murghab, Shakh, and Ghund. Many 
of these streams bear two, three, or even five names, 
this engaging variety of description springing from 
the fact that the several parts of the same stream 
are differently described by the various natives — 
Afghans, Chinese, Tajiks, and Kirghiz — who frequent 
the Pamir region. In some cases, too, explorers have 
added names derived from imperfect interpretation 
of local information, until it may be said that few- 
rivers in the world bear so many names as does the 
Oxus in its higher reaches. 

If we take the upper stream and follow it from its 
source in the glaciers which lie below the Wakh-jir 
Pass, it will be found that in its immediate descent 
from this field, but without taking its name from the 
adjacent pass, the waters of the Amu Daria in their 
higher reaches are styled the Panja. This title 
extends along the Upper Oxus until, at Bozai Gum- 
baz, it is joined by the first contribution from the 
Nicholas glaciers. This affluent is described indif- 
ferently by the name Burgutai, Little Pamir Daria, 
and Kuntai-su; a little before the meeting of the 
Burgutai with the Panja this stream divides east 
and west, the eastern arm passing into the channel 
of the Ak-su above Lake Chakmaktin so that the 
Burgutai stream feeds equally the Ak-su and Ab-i- 
Panja Rivers. The Burgutai is narrow, shallow, and 

77 



AFGHANISTAN 

inconstant; from its start to its junction with the 
Panja it possesses a course of only ten miles and is 
solely of interest as indicating one of the tributaries 
which go to swell the volume of the Oxus. Below 
Bozai Gumbaz the stream which rises in the Wakh- 
jir glaciers bears the five names Ab-i-Wakhan, 
Wakh-jir, Sarhad, Wakh-su, and Ab-i-Panja, the sev- 
eral variations of the name Panja. 

The fall of the Panja from its source to its junc- 
tion with the Sarhad has been estimated at 1247 
metres in 75 kilometres. It will be gathered, accord- 
ingly, that it is a very rapid stream until it reaches 
the Sarhad. At Bozai Gumbaz and for a short dis- 
tance along the Wakhan Valley, the river slackens 
until, turning northwards beyond Ishkashim, it re- 
covers and tumbles swiftly forward. Before leaving 
the Wakhan Valley it receives, on the right bank, 
the stream which flows through Lake Victoria and 
is known incorrectly as Ab-i-Panja and correctly as 
Pamir Daria. At one time, in consequence of Wood's 
error, it was confounded with the head waters of 
the Oxus. Neither in volume, length, nor through 
the possession of any requisite characteristic can the 
Pamir Daria be accounted the parent stream. This 
river describes from its source in the glacial fields of 
Mount Nicholas a fall of 153 metres over the first 
20 kilometres of its course. From Lake Victoria 
proper to Mazar-tepe, where the Khargosh River 
flows into it, the Pamir Daria falls 285 metres in 
40 kilometres. From Mazar-tepe to Langar Kisht, 
where it unites with the waters of the Panja, Ab-i- 

78 



THE NORTHERN BORDER 

Panja, or Ab-i-Wakhan, there is a further fall of 
831 metres in 60 kilometres. From Langar Ejsht 
to Rang the fall is 327 metres in 100 kilometres, 
the pace of the river in this stretch of the Wakhan 
Valley being comparatively sluggish. From Rang, 
which is a little east of Ishkashim, to Khorok in 
Shignan there is a perceptible increase in the cur- 
rent of the river, its mean fall being 702 metres in 
100 kilometres. 

The Panja in its passage through the Wakhan 
Valley presents a number of interesting contrasts. 
In its higher reaches at first a tumbling mountain 
torrent, it becomes between Semut, which is below 
Langar Kisht, and Shirtar a slow, lifeless stream, so 
nerveless and placid that it ceases to carry in its cur- 
rent the masses of suspended matter which hitherto 
have been swept along with it. At Langar Kisht, 
the junction of the Pamir Daria with the Panja, 
there is a deposit of broken rocks and smooth water- 
borne stones which have been brought down from 
the glaciers. The wide area, covered by these quan- 
tities of debris and detritus from the upper valleys, 
makes the banks and bed of the river resemble a 
deserted beach, where human life seldom enters and 
vegetation does not flourish. In places where depos- 
its of sand have been left by the stream, the wind 
has whipped the loose surfaces into small dunes; in 
other directions large tracts of this drift sand have 
been covered by tamarisk; elsewhere there is no veg- 
etation and the tamarisk has not appeared. In 
midsummer, when the river diminishes and high 

79 



AFGHANISTAN 

winds blow through the gorge, the scattered patches 
of sand left by the stream are caught up by the gales 
and swept in clouds of fine dust across the fields 
beyond. 

In the wider valleys, such as those at Langar 
Ejsht and the Zung, the Panja divides into a num- 
ber of arms. These small channels contain danger- 
ous quicksands. The stream itself is black with 
mud, the river at this point being charged with a 
fertilising matter which, where deposited, is followed 
usually by a growth of luxuriant vegetation. The 
Pamir Daria similarly breaks up, but its channels 
are free from, quicksand and the water carries little 
mud in suspension. ^ Between Langar Kisht and 
Ptuk there is a belt of vegetation. The banks are 
covered with grass; there are many willows, white 
poplars, and here and there impenetrable copses 
of camelthorn. Beyond Ptuk the beneficent char- 
acter of the river changes, and in the valley between 
Semut and Shirtar the banks reflect a waste of sand 
dunes and patches of drift sand. The mud deposits 
of the main stream, too, appear to be exhausted at 
Ptuk, where there is a large intake of glacial water 
from a number of rapid streams which come down 
from the Hindoo Kush. As if the moraines dis- 
charged their stones and gravel into these snow- 
fed torrents there exists at this point a stretch of 
river-bed, desolate and barren. 

The mountains at Langar Kisht and Zung recede 
considerably on either side from the river and thus 

1 "Through the Unknown Pamirs." O. Olufsen. 

80 



THE NORTHERN BORDER 

give room for a broad valley. But they come together 
immediately west of Kala Panja, forming a narrow 
ravine through which the Panja can just pass. 
Beyond this gorge the valley expands to a breadth 
of several kilometres and the river divides into arms 
dotted with little islands which are covered with 
thorny copses. After this lake-like extension the 
river, from the village of Shirtar down stream, con- 
sists of one channel which, here and there, widens 
out, making space for further inlets. 

From Dersai to Nut the stream contracts to an 
average breadth of 25 metres and dashes with such 
suppressed energy between the steep banks of its 
rocky bed that the boom of the tumbling waters 
echoes throughout the valley. From Dersai to Si 
Khanah the mountains run so close together, north 
and south, that in most places there is only room for 
the actual bed of the river, and it is only near the 
mouths of the small hill-side streams that a few 
hundred square yards of arable soil may be found. 
About 3 kilometres west of Si Khanah there are a 
number of cataracts, and immediately south of Rang 
the sands, brought down by the stream, begin again 
to form into dunes. From Nut to Samchan, in the 
province of Ishkashim, the river valley becomes 
broader, the Panja dividing into several arms. The 
banks here are covered with thick copses, the haunt 
of the wild boar and the home of many birds; but in 
the province of Gharan, a few kilometres to the north 
of Samchan, the valley of the Panja becomes a mere 
cleft in the mountains, the river retaining this form 

81 



AFGHANISTAN 

until it receives the waters of the Ghund at Charog. 
At Darband, on the boundary between Gharan and 
Ishkashim and before the meeting of the Ghund 
Daria with the Panja, the stream breaking down a 
number of cataracts tears through its narrow moun- 
tain passage and becomes a most imposing water- 
fall; indeed, from Darband almost to Charog the 
stream of the Panja rushing along its rocky bed is 
one vast foaming cataract which, dashing against 
the mountains, crushes everything that falls into its 
whirling eddies. 

The bulk of the tributary streams of the Panja 
River is found between Langar Kisht and Namagut, 
the presence of the Hindoo Kush glaciers being the 
source of an extensive water-supply draining into 
the river. The length of these streams seldom 
exceeds 15 kilometres and the more general course is 
one of 10 kilometres. Their period of greatest activ- 
ity is at the time of the summer floods, when the ice 
melts and the heavy snows are broken up. At such 
a moment a large volume of water sweeps through 
their shallow channels carrying with it huge boulders, 
masses of ice, many tons of snow, and running 
with too great force to present facilities for fording. 
North from Ishkashim the tributaries of the Panja 
diminish both in number and size. The rivers flow- 
ing from the Badakshan Mountains and the streams 
from the southern valleys of the Pamirs are, save 
in one or two important instances, flood-water and 
dependent upon the break-up of the snows and ice. 
The most important exception is the Bartang, which 



THE NORTHERN BORDER 

is known as Murghab, Ak-tash, and Ak-su. This 
river is certainly the longest tributary of the Panja 
in Roshan district. In the course of its descent 
from Lake Chakmaktin it receives no less than eight 
tributaries, three of which approach it from the north 
— the remaining five rising in small, separate streams 
in the hilly ground to the south. The Bartang is 
not the only river of importance which unites with 
the Panja after the main stream has swung out from 
the Wakhan Valley towards the north. Two others, 
respectively the Ghund Daria and the Shakh Daria, 
join their waters at Sazan Bulak, flowing from that 
point under the name of Suchan Daria to a junction 
with the Panja. The waters of the Suchan Daria 
and the Panja meet at Charog, which lies on the 
right bank of the Panja somewhat south and east 
of Kala Bar Panja. This place, situated on the left 
bank, is the capital of Shignan. 

Communications through Wakhan and Gharan 
still preserve their primitive character; but between 
Kala Panja and Kala Bar Panja, on the Afghan side 
of the river, there is a serviceable track which, if 
more a bridle path than suited for the requirements 
of wheeled traffic, is none the less superior to any- 
thing existing between these points on the Russian 
bank. The Russians have not troubled to make a 
clearance along the banks of the river, their princi- 
pal objective having been to connect their military 
depots in the Pamirs with the principal fords of the 
Upper Oxus and to provide first-class communica- 
tions between their Pamir posts and their bases in 

83 



AFGHANISTAN 

Turkestan. The Afghan Hne of communications on 
the banks of the river proceeds from the energy 
and precautions taken by Abdur Rahman. Although 
no longer preserved with the same care, it neverthe- 
less offers to the Afghan patrols a convenient road 
by which the frontier may be inspected. At many 
points along this riverside paths have been cleared 
of boulders, streams have been bridged, and ramps 
have been constructed to facilitate the passage of 
the more troublesome spurs. Difficulties of move- 
ment must beset the traveller in Wakhan at all 
times, as progress through the valleys is dependent 
on the season. During the melting of the snows, 
which begins in May, the rivers which draw their 
waters from the mountain system of the Hindoo 
Kush or from the Pamirs are in flood, the period of 
flood-water prevailing until the end of August. From 
September to March it is usually possible to proceed 
along the banks ; but, so soon as the snow begins to 
break up, the Panja, in its higher no less than in its 
middle reaches, becomes so swollen that the great 
volume of water passing through the channel breaks 
its bounds and inundates the valley. At such a 
time wide detours over the mountains have to be 
made; from the end of October the streams freeze 
and it becomes possible to use their frozen surfaces. 
Certain difficulties attend this practice, as the rapid- 
ity of the current interferes with the formation of 
the ice. 

The passage through the river valleys, particu- 
larly in the higher reaches along the Russian border, 

84 



THE NORTHERN BORDER 

is always arduous. It is better to secure permission 
to go round than to endure the labour of clambering 
up the many steep mountain slopes where there is 
no path to guide one and very little foothold. It 
is practically useless to take animal transport, and 
coolies lightly laden are more reliable a means of 
effecting the journey. Beyond Ishkashim, as far 
as the junction of the Suchan Daria with the Panja, 
a distance of 50 miles, the river valley is so broken 
and complex that the road, where it exists at all, 
becomes a mere zigzag, half-a-dozen inches in breadth. 
Rugged and lofty, it is barely perceptible on the 
granite face of the mountain. Frequently, no bet- 
ter footing than the surface roughness of the rocks 
presents itself. Nature appearing to have gone out 
of her way in order to raise obstacles against the 
passing of the wayfarer. J 

At the junction of the Suchan Daria with the 
Panja, where the valley widens, there is no longer 
confusion about the name of the stream. It is now 
the Panja or Ab-i-Panja, and until meeting with the 
Bartang-Murghab-Ak-su-Ak-tash at Kala Wamar 
the valley preserves its open character. Beyond the 
Bartang its dimensions contract once more and 
the river tears a way for itself through mountain 
gorges. At Kala IQium it bends to the west and, 
striking a little south and then a little north-west, 
runs at right angles to the general trend of the moun- 
tains towards the more open valleys about Kulab. 
Kala Khum may be said to mark the most northerly 
point of the river. The district surrounding it is in 

85 



AFGHANISTAN 

distinct contrast with the desolation of the valleys 
along the Upper Oxus. The cliffs are no less bold 
and the precipices no less sheer than in Gharan and 
Wakhan; but owing to the mildness of the climate 
of Darwaz a genial warmth permeates the region, 
encouraging a generous growth of vegetation. The 
wild vine, the red pomegranate, the apple, pear, and 
mulberry flourish and many varieties of vegetables 
are freely cultivated. 

From the point where the Bokharan province of 
Kulab becomes separated by the Oxus River from 
the Afghan districts of Rustak and Kataghan, the 
channel of the stream is contained no longer by 
the walls of the mountains. Broad streams, from the 
Trans-Alai Range in one direction and the highlands 
of Karategin in another, join the Oxus, the main 
river at once beginning to adopt an uncertain chan- 
nel. Numerous feeders appear on both banks at this 
part of its course. The Kulab and Surkhab-Waksh- 
Kizil-su join it in broad muddy streams from the 
Karategin uplands, until the river, changing its char- 
acter altogether, divides itself into many channels 
where the hills fail to confine it. In addition to 
the two tributaries just mentioned as appearing 
on the right bank, there are three others, the Kafir- 
nahan, the Surkhan, and the Darban. These are 
contributed from Bokhara; while, on the left bank, 
Badakshan dismisses the Kokcha and the Kunduz- 
Ghori-Khanabad-Aksarai to a meeting with the main 
stream. In earlier times, when there were fewer 
settlements and the demand for purposes of irriga- 

86 



THE NORTHERN BORDER 

tion was not so great, the Amu Daria possessed, 
both on the north and on the south, other tributaries, 
the waters of which are now entirely diverted to the 
fields. In these middle as also in the upper reaches 
of the river but little of the main stream is util- 
ised by villagers, the inhabitants of the settle- 
ments in the valleys threaded by the Oxus supply- 
ing their agricultural necessities from the smaller 
streams. West of Kunduz, for a distance of nearly 700 
miles, the drainage of the hills to the south of the 
river is lost in the plains of Afghan Turkestan; but 
on the Bokharan side the extensive canalisation, 
which is such a prominent feature, causes many of 
the streams to be exhausted before they have had 
opportunity to effect a junction with the Amu Daria. 
It is not until near Pitniak that any important diver- 
sion of the waters of the Oxus for cultivation is made. 
At that point the great division of the stream for 
the requirements of the Khivan oasis occurs, a gen- 
eral discharge of 125,000 cubic feet per second being 
deflected in order to supply a system of canals by 
which over 4000 square miles of fertile alluvial land 
are kept in tillage. 

The bed of the Oxus in its lower reaches is muddy. 
Taking the course of the river as a whole, measure- 
ments which have been made at a series of points 
demonstrate that there are no less than 16,000,000 
tons of sedimentary matter constantly passing down 
to form the vast delta that distinguishes its mouth, as 
well as to fertilise its banks or any areas which, from 
time to time, may be submerged. It is unnecessary 

87 



AFGHANISTAN 

to mention all the various channels through which, 
below the fortress of Nukus, the stream flows. The 
principal are the Ulkan Daria, the Taldik, and 
the Yani Su. These present the usual features of 
a delta; but the triangular space contained within 
the Yani Su and the Taldik, its extreme eastern and 
western channels, is not a true delta, since it consists 
of an original formation through which the river has 
cut its way to the Aral Sea, and upon which other 
matter has been deposited. Actual deltas, however, 
have been developed about the mouths of the Taldik 
and Yani Su, their existence constituting a bar to 
vessels drawing over four feet of water. 

The tendency of the Oxus, like that of the great 
Siberian rivers, is to press continually on its right 
or east bank. The consequence of this deflection, 
which is due to the rotation of the earth round its 
axis from west to east, is that the stream has turned 
from the Kungrad channel eastwards to the Taldik 
channel and thence to the Yani Su which, at present, 
is receiving the main discharge. In former times a 
far greater deviation took place. No less than twice 
during its history has the Oxus oscillated between 
the Caspian and the Aral Seas. In the time of Strabo 
it was a sort of eastern continuation of the Kura 
route from Georgia across the Caspian and the Kara 
Kum to Charjui. Its course across the desert is 
indicated by the Igdy and other wells dotted over 
the plains in a line with its former bed, which reached 
the Caspian in the depression between the Great 
and Little Balkan Hills. Later on Edrisi found the 

88 



THE NORTHERN BORDER 

Oxus flowing into the Aral. But in the fourteenth 
century it was flowing into the Caspian — this time 
along the Uzboi channel. The bed ran from near 
Nukus westwards to the Sara Kamish steppe and 
thence southwards to the Igdy wells, along the orig- 
inal course between the Balkans to the Caspian, 
close to Mikhailovsk. 

The navigation of the Oxus has been the subject 
of constant inquiry from the time when, in 1875, 
the steamer PetrovsM, drawing three and a half feet 
of water, picked a passage for itself as far as Nukus. 
Three years later another steamer, the Samarkand, 
with a draught of three feet and of twenty-four horse- 
power, made the journey from Petro Alexandrovsk 
to Kelif. Between 1878 and 1880 further attempts 
were made to demonstrate the navigability of this 
water-way; but between 1880 and 1887 there was 
so much conflict of opinion that matters scarcely 
advanced beyond the experimental stage. At that 
date the increasing importance of the interests of 
Russia along the Afghan border made evident the 
advisability of improving all possible lines of com- 
munication with it. With this end in view, the Rus- 
sian Government equipped a small fleet of steamers 
for river service and the navigation of the Oxus 
to-day is controlled by these vessels, which are 
described as the Government Amu Daria Flotilla. 
Between Patta Hissar on the middle reaches and 
Khiva, Petro Alexandrovsk, and Kungrad on the 
lower reaches, these craft conduct a regular shipping 
business, Farab and Charjui acting as the central 

89 



AFGHANISTAN 

depot to the service — Farab holding the head- 
quarters of the company and Charjui being the prin- 
cipal anchorage. 

From Patta Hissar to Charjui the journey occu- 
pies between seven and ten days, dependent upon 
the size of the steamer and the character of the voy- 
age. Sand banks are a perpetual menace to rapid 
navigation, and the length of time varies according 
to the immunity of the undertaking from mishap. 
From Charjui to Kungrad the same amount of time 
is usually required. i 

The boats are of old construction and only number 
five in all. They are supplemented by a fleet of 
barges of large and small capacity, the larger class 
carrying 12,000 poods, the smaller, of which there 
are two divisions, carrying 5000 poods and 3000 
poods each. 

The two principal steamers, respectively the Tsar 
and Tsaritsa, were the first to be launched and date 
back to 1887. The three others, which are slower, 
smaller, and more akin to river tugs than passen- 
ger craft, are the Samarkand, Bokhara, and Kabul. 
Their cost was borne by the Government and ran 
into several thousand pounds apiece. All the ves- 
sels are paddle-boats and flat-bottomed. The two 
larger ships are supposed to be able to make 16 
knots per hour; their length is 150 feet, with 23 feet 
beam, and engines of 500 horse-power. 

Their draught, when laden, is rather less than 
3 feet, while they carry a crew of 30 hands and pos- 
sess accommodation for 300 men and 20 oflScers. 

90 



THE NORTHERN BORDER 

They take any class of cargo and passengers and 
are also utilised for towing the freight barges of the 
military authorities up stream to the frontier sta- 
tions at Karki, Kelif, Patta Hissar, and Termes. 
Navigation between Patta Hissar and Charjui con- 
tinues throughout the year unless prevented by the 
freezing of the river; between Charjui and Kungrad 
the continuity of the down-river service is depen- 
dent upon the sand banks, their sudden appearance 
and constant change of position quite upsetting the 
ordinary schedule. 

From April 1 to October 1 the steamers leave 
Charjui twice a week — on Wednesdays for Karki 
and on Sundays for Patta Hissar. During the re- 
mainder of the year they leave once a week, on 
Sundays, for Patta Hissar. On the journey from 
Patta Hissar to Karki, during the summer, steamers 
leave on Saturdays and in the winter months on 
Thursdays; for the journey from Karki to Patta 
Hissar steamers leave in the summer months on 
Wednesdays and in the winter months on Fridays. 
From Patta Hissar to Charjui steamers run every 
Friday and Sunday in summer and during the winter 
on Sundays. 

In general, navigation on the lower Oxus is diffi- 
cult. Above Charjui the swiftness of the current, 
which averages five miles and, in some places, even 
six miles an hour, impedes the up-stream progress 
of any but the more powerful boats. Unfortunately 
the narrowness of the channel above Charjui and 
its extreme tortuousness make the employment of 

91 



AFGHANISTAN 

steamers of a class that would be really serviceable 
against so strong a current quite unsuitable. Again, 
the constant shifting of the proper channel in the 
lower reaches, the liability of the river to sudden 
rises between April and August and the irregular 
falls between August and October — sometimes mak- 
ing within a few hours a difference of eight feet 
in the level of the stream — create a further obsta- 
cle against the successful organisation of a purely 
commercial service. The difficulty is much greater 
down stream where obstructions to navigation, owing 
to the diminution of the current as the surface of 
the stream increases, are more frequent. 

In this respect it is interesting to study the fall 
of the river from Kelif to Charjui, and from that 
point to the mouth. According to the Russian reck- 
oning, between these two points, a distance of 200 
miles, there is a fall of 220 feet.^ 

From Charjui to the mouth of the river there is a 
fall of only 167 feet in a distance of 500 miles. If 
the fall in the river between Patta Hissar and Charjui 
be compared with the width of the stream, the diffi- 
culty presented to navigation through the current 
will be understood. There is a breadth at Kelif of 
540 yards which increases to 650 yards at Charjui 
during the normal JBow of the river; but for a 
considerable distance from the bank the stream is 
shallow, possessing a bare depth of 3 feet with an 
average of 10 feet in the centre. At the time of 
flood these dimensions become greatly increased and 

* "Russian Central Asia." H. Lansdell. 

92 



THE NORTHERN BORDER 

the Oxus from Farab to its mouth is an imposing 
spectacle. In places it is fully a mile in width and 
a very general measurement is 1000 metres. The 
flood channel is usually three-fourths wider than 
the ordinary stream; in the extremely broad places 
the average strength of the current per hour is 4 
miles, falling as low as 2| miles per hour when the 
flood has subsided. The water passing down is in the 
desert stretches of a yellow hue. In those portions 
where rocks take the place of sand it shows a grey 
tone, imparted by the masses of granite, sand, and 
mica which are held in suspension. In spite of 
its curious colouring the water is used extensively 
for drinking purposes without apparent ill effect. 
In taste it is slightly saline, but it does not possess 
a sufficient quantity of salt to prevent freezing. 
The temperature of the river in midsummer is 73°. 
In winter the stream above Kunduz freezes regularly, 
the frozen surface becoming a passageway between 
the banks. Below Khiva a similar physical condition 
prevails, caravans crossing the ice without risk. At 
Charjui the river freezes over from bank to bank, 
but it is only at rare seasons that the ice is of suflB- 
cient solidarity to support general traffic. At Karki 
the surface of the river coats over, but the ice itself 
is unsubstantial; at Kelif, where numerous floes 
appear in the stream, the force of the current is suffi- 
cient to prevent any general formation of ice. 

The banks of the river about Kelif, for a distance 
of fifty miles above the ferry and particularly on the 
right bank, reveal considerable agricultural activity. 

93 



AFGHANISTAN 

Further along the left bank of the lower Oxus there 
is a zone, five miles in width, in which cultivation 
has been extensively practised. Wheat and barley, 
the spreading willow, and the luscious mulberry- 
tree grow in profusion, imparting to the scene an 
appearance of prosperity in odd contrast with the 
dreary expanses distinguishing so much of the coun- 
try through which the river courses. Irrigation is 
widely employed; water is drawn from the Oxus in 
long canals, the heads of which are constantly being 
destroyed by flood and renewed again as rapidly. 
The scene in these attenuated strips of cultivation 
is bright and there is a happy note of industry and 
peace. Small villages, the houses neatly built of 
stone, stand scattered about the landscape; single, 
substantial, and very comfortable-looking home- 
steads are numerous. Where cultivation ceases, 
too, there is usually a narrow tract of jungle be- 
tween the reeds of the river-bed and the edge of the 
desert, where admirable cover exists for wild animals 
and birds. 

The passage of the stream by the steamers of the 
Oxus flotilla is made only during daylight. From 
Charjui, where there are excellent facilities, the hour 
of departure is eight o'clock. If overtaken by dark- 
ness between the stages the vessels tie up to the bank, 
resuming the journey at dawn. In calm weather 
an average daily passage is fifty miles, although 
down stream a better run is generally recorded. In 
the event of arriving in advance of the scheduled 
time, the hour of departure is left to the discretion 

94 



THE NORTHERN BORDER 

of the captain. Regular halts are arranged at Patta 
Hissar, where the steamers stay four hours, and at 
Karki where, on the voyage to Patta Hissar, four 
hours are also spent. This interval is reduced to 
two hours on the return journey and also at Char- 
jui; but elsewhere it is a matter of uncertainty, the 
duration of the stop merely being governed by the 
time occupied in loading and unloading the barges. 
Steamers, as a rule, start punctually, particularly at 
Charjui, the vessels leaving their moorings accord- 
ing to Askhabad time. This is the standard on the 
Central Asian Railway. 

The custom of granting passages at reduced rates 
to all and sundry associated with the Government, 
observed throughout the railway systems of Russia, 
is adopted on the steamers of the Oxus flotilla. 
There are three classes of tariffs and two standards 
of accommodation: 

(1) Officers and doctors travelling on duty. 

(2) Children between the ages of five and ten 
years. 

(3) Non-commissioned officers, soldiers, emigrants 
with families, and prisoners. 

These are all carried at a reduction of fifty per 
cent. Soldiers are compelled to show a warrant 
attested by the authority for the transport of troops 
by water, emigrants a permit signed by the local 
civil authority, and the guard in charge of prisoners 
an order from the local police bureau before being 
supplied with tickets. All passengers are entitled 
to one pood of baggage, free of charge; but for the 

95 



AFGHANISTAN 

unloading and reloading of baggage or of cargo, pas- 
sengers must pay at the rate of one and a half kopecks 
per pood ; for the hire of boats for the transportation 
of such baggage to the steamer or from the steamer 
to the shore at the rate of one kopeck per pood. 
Animals of a domestic description, such as sheep, 
camels, horses, cattle, and dogs, bales of merchandise, 
and timber are carried by special arrangement and 
under a special tariff. This can be supplied on 
demand at the chief bureau of the flotilla at Charjui 
and Farab, at the principal goods office of the com- 
pany at Karki, by the captains of steamers and the 
mates of barges. Steamers are permitted to tow 
private vessels of any description at the rate of half 
a kopeck per ton of their displacement in addi- 
tion to whatever other charges may be contracted. 

The accommodation is divided between the first 
and third classes, the cabins being at the disposal 
of the first-class passengers. Restrictions are not 
placed on the movements of native passengers who, 
if they dared to pay for a cabin, would be permitted 
to berth in the first saloon. Meals are supplied on 
board by arrangement with the purser; but, while 
there is no material difficulty attaching to the journey 
up and down the river, permission to travel by these 
steamers is very rarely accorded to foreigners. 

For the better comprehension of the terms which 
have been mentioned the following table is given: 

1 ton = 62 poods 
1 pood = 36 lbs. 
1 rouble = 2 shillings 
100 kopecks = 1 rouble 

96 



THE NORTHERN BORDER 

In addition to the steamers of the flotilla there are 
380 native-owned craft engaged in trading along the 
lower and middle reaches of the stream. These 
vessels conduct a very flourishing trade in various 
native commodities — fruit, vegetables, wood, live 
stock, cotton goods, and such minor manufactures 
as may be required among the native villages. The 
boats used in this traffic are of rough native work- 
manship, capacious and damp, but in their way 
serviceable enough. 

Their dimensions are: 

LENGTH BEAM DEPTH 

50 feet 18 feet 4 feet 

Each boat can accommodate 150 passengers, 20 
mounted men, and stow 20 tons of cargo — an 
estimate which strains their capacity to its utmost 
limit. In design these craft, flat-bottomed, with a 
draught of 18 inches and 2J feet of gunwale above 
the water, are constructed of square logs of willow or 
mulberry, 6 feet in length, peeled, clipped into shape, 
and clamped together with iron pins. The craft 
trade principally on the lower reaches of the river, 
although there is nothing to prevent them, save the 
difficulty of the task, from venturing further up 
stream. In this respect a few of the better class 
do manage to reach Patta Hissar, whence large 
floats of timber are despatched to Charjui. The 
existence of this trade at Patta Hissar is character- 
istic of the middle reaches of the stream, where 
white poplar, willows, and mulberry trees grow in 
profusion. The presence of the timber encourages 

97 



AFGHANISTAN 

native shipping to tie up to the trees, the several 
little colonies of vessels thus laid up imparting to 
the appearance of the river an amount of life and 
animation not always borne out by actual traffic. 

The contrivances used by ferries on the Oxus are 
in a measure identical with those which may be 
noticed on the Murghab and along the Helmund. 
Neither rafts nor inflated skins are in any favour on 
the lower reaches, although skins are employed by 
natives in the region of the Upper Oxus, this method 
constituting the sole means by which a passage of 
the river is effected. On the middle and lower 
reaches there are rough boats, similar in design to 
the trading craft but somewhat smaller in dimension. 
Rafts are requisitioned only for the transportation 
of firewood. 

Above Charjui, as far as a little east of the mouth 
of the Kunduz River, a distance of nearly 300 miles, 
there are fifteen ferries, four of which have been 
abandoned. Below Charjui, from that point as far 
as Petro Alexandrovsk, there are nine. 

These ferries are provided with two boats, sta- 
tioned one on either side of the river. The passage 
is accomplished by punting or through the services 
of small horses trained to tow the boat while swim- 
ming and attached by means of a surcingle to an 
outrigger which projects beyond the gunwale. Native 
shipping relies principally on man-haulage up stream, 
supplemented by constant poling; down stream the 
boats drift with the current. 

It is characteristic of a large portion of the river 

98 



THE NORTHERN BORDER 

that the stream flows within double banks. The 
inner one is the line of the water at ordinary seasons, 
while the outer one is the limit of the river in flood. 
The distance between the banks is as much as two 
miles in many places and the zone thus formed 
is laid out in fields and gardens. Moreover, it 
rarely happens that this interior space is altogether 
inundated and a portion, therefore, is cultivated per- 
manently. Elsewhere the area available for devel- 
opment is measured by the flood season. Where 
these intra-spaces occur considerable length is added 
to the ferry passage. Sometimes the river forms a 
series of separate channels until its waters have 
united beyond the interruption. Such a point is 
met with at Khwaja Sala, where in certain seasons 
the stream is divided into three branches, the width 
of each channel being 295 yards, 113 yards, and 
415 yards. The average depth there is 9 feet. At 
Kelif, 33 miles up stream, on the other hand, these 
double banks do not appear, the river flowing in 
a single and very narrow bed '^ The Kelif ferry is 
of interest as a link in the affairs of Central Asia. 
It was the point where Alexander crossed the Oxus 
in B.C. 330; while to-day it is one of the most impor- 
tant Customs stations on the Russo-Afghan border. 
At every ferry station small posts of observation, 
formed of Bokharan levies, have been established. 
During the prevalence of plague in India and cholera 
in Afghanistan and Persia orders were issued which 
closed all ferries against the passage of caravans and 
travellers. Only at Charjui and Karki was traffic 

99 



AFGHANISTAN 

permitted. Lately there has been sorae relaxation 
in the execution of these regulations; but a number 
of the minor ferries are still barred against any de- 
scripticn of communication from Afghanistan, India, 
and Persia. 

The river does not continue for many miles in the 
turbulent spirit that distinguishes its appearance at 
Kelif ; at Karki, a few miles to the west, on account 
of a second channel there is greater width. At 
Charjui the ferry is nearly 700 yards across at low 
water, with several branches formed by sand banks. 
At the time of flood this distance becomes double 
with a depth of 30 feet in mid-stream; the further 
dimensions of the river down stream corresponding 
in proportion with the level of the banks. 



100 



CHAPTER Vm 

TEE MURGHAB VALLEY RAILWAY 

THE Russian Government has shown remark- 
able energy during the past few years in 
improving its railway communications in 
Central Asian regions. After the Trans-Caspian line 
had been finished from the Caspian Sea to Samar- 
kand there was a lull in construction, but presently 
an extension was carried on to Tashkent and thence 
to Andijan. By creating railway communication 
with Merv, Russia met half-way the difficulties of 
her station in Trans-Caspia. In the event of any 
military crisis arising with Afghanistan, 300 versts of 
difficult country yet remained to be crossed before 
concentration upon that frontier could be effected. 
At a later date a branch was run from Merv to 
Pendjeh, by which this hiatus was at once repaired 
and Russia secured to herself a position of command- 
ing importance across the road to Herat. 

Surveys, carried out in the year 1894 in two direc- 
tions, from the station of Tejend and from Merv, 
demonstrated that the Merv-Murghab route did not 
present any technical difficulties. Shorter than the 
Tejend line by 65 versts and more level, it trav- 
ersed the well-populated Merv, Yulatan, and Pendjeh 

101 



AFGHANISTAN 

oases. Water was also plentiful. On the other hand 
the line from Tejend crossed very difficult country; 
while it doubled the distance, necessitating 700,000 
cubic sagenes additional excavation. Perhaps a 
more emphatic objection arose from the inadequacy 
of water between Tejend and Sarakhs, supplies in 
the Tejend district drying up between September 
and January. As a consequence the line was con- 
structed from Merv to Kushkinski Post, on the 
Afghan frontier, through the valleys of the Murghab 
and Kushk Rivers, just over 293 versts or 192 miles 
in length, with a terminal depot only 80 miles dis- 
tant from Herat. From motives of economy one 
station was allowed to every 50 versts, with sidings 
half-way between them; only two engine sheds and 
workshops Were provided, while all other buildings 
were limited and none but the cheapest materials 
employed. Bridges were made of wood instead of 
stone, the rolling-stock sufficing for four trains in 
the twenty-four hours. Railway and military tele- 
graph wires were fixed to the same posts and it was 
not intended to ballast the permanent way. Con- 
struction was reduced by these precautions to 8,408,- 
000 roubles. After revision by a commission of the 
General Staff this sum was increased by the cost of 
ballasting the permanent way, 329,000 roubles; the 
total expenditure upon the work finally amounting 
to 9,669,000 roubles or 33,000 roubles per verst. 

Imperial ukase authorised construction on Au- 
gust 26, 1896, actual work beginning on April 27, 
1897. 

102 



MURGHAB VALLEY RAILWAY 

Colonel Ulyanin, of the Corps of Engineers, was 
appointed Chief Constructor and the overseers were 
also engineer officers, the majority of whom had 
already taken part in the laying of the Krasnovodsk- 
Merv section of the Trans-Caspian Railway. The 
workmen consisted of Russians, Persians, Bokharans, 
Sarts from the province of Samarkand, Ersaris and 
Afghans from Maimana, the daily roll averaging 
between 3500 and 5000. Of this number from 27 per 
cent, to 45 per cent, were Russians, who were paid 
from 89 kopecks to 1 rouble 80 kopecks per day. 
Native workmen received no more than 80 kopecks 
daily; several hundred of them worked for a monthly 
salary of between 15 and 17 roubles. The preva- 
lence of malaria in the Kushk and Murghab Valleys 
interrupted the building and hundreds of instances 
of labourers breaking their contracts occurred, the 
authorities being obliged to repair the shortage by 
enlisting inexperienced men. In spite of this diffi- 
culty work upon the permanent way was completed 
in November, 1898, and the task of laying the rails, 
which began on November 15, 1897, was finished on 
December 4, 1898. Rails were laid at a rate varying 
between one and two and one-half versts per day, 
the job being carried out by the newly formed com- 
panies of the Railway Battalion. The cost per 
verst fluctuated from 350 to 450 roubles. The dif- 
ference existing between the gauge of this railway 
and the standard of the Russian railways has since 
been altered. At first the line was of narrow gauge 
with rails weighing 18 pounds to the cubic foot, 

103 



AFGHANISTAN 

metals of a heavier type only being laid for a dis- 
tance of 40 versts. The service of trains from Merv 
to Kushkinski was opened on December 4, 1898. At 
the present time it comprises four daily local trains 
and two bi-weekly expresses, "through" trains, which 
complete the journey in eighteen hours at a speed of 
eleven miles an hour. 

Upon completion and after inspection by a com- 
mission, control of the Murghab Valley line reverted 
to the Minister of Ways and Communications by 
whom the original narrow gauge was adapted to the 
broad gauge of the Russian system. Various other 
alterations and improvements in the siding and hut- 
ting accommodation were also carried out. In 1901- 
1902 branch lines to Chahil Dukteran and Tanur 
Sangi, skirting the left bank of the Murghab and 
passing Maruchak on the Afghan bank, were con- 
structed. It is now proposed to double the entire 
track between Merv and Kushkinski Post, these 
highly significant changes making the railway avail- 
able for any service the military authorities might 
impose upon it. The line itself is veiled in such 
close secrecy by the Russian authorities that pecu- 
liar interest attaches to any particulars upon it, and 
these notes, presented for the first time to the pub- 
lic, convey an accurate and not unimportant descrip- 
tion of its character, from the junction at Merv to 
the terminus at Chahil Dukteran. 

From Merv station, 118.01 sagenes above sea- 
level, the railway runs at first in a south-easterly 
direction, passing due south and south-west along 

104 



MURGHAB VALLEY RAILWAY 

the valleys of the Murghab and Kushk Rivers. The 
first station beyond Merv is Talkhatan Baba, some 
37 versts distant at an elevation of 127.06 sagenes. 
This place is situated in country which is both sandy 
and flat, while barely 6 versts away is the Murghab 
River, upon which the station is dependent for its 
water-supply. Twenty versts farther the line meets 
the spreading prosperity of the Yulatan oasis, from 
which the point derives its name. Yulatan station 
stands at a height of 134.16 sagenes; and, although 
a pleasant freshness is imparted by the oasis to its 
environment, the general spectacle is very dreary, 
being broken only by the contours of low dunes and 
undulating sand ridges. A small village has been 
founded by the Russians on the banks of the stream, 
the first colonists to establish themselves in Yulatan 
appearing in 1885. An open square, surrounded by 
little brick and stone buildings, distinguishes the 
centre of the settlement. Four wide streets, along 
the gutters of which are planted tall trees, radiate 
from it; while the population consists principally of 
Persians, Khivans, Sarts, Armenians, and Bokharan 
Jews. The percentage of Russians is inconsiderable. 
Yulatan contains the headquarters of the District 
Commissioner, the Sixth Company of the 1st Trans- 
Caspian Railway Battalion, and two companies of the 
1st Caucasian Rifle Battalion. There are also a post 
and telegraph office, a mixed primary school, a hos- 
pital with six beds, a synagogue, and a large public 
garden. The trade is in the hands of Bokharan Jews 
and the market assembles upon Mondays and Thurs- 

105 



AFGHANISTAN 

days. In the district around the station there is a 
Tekke population of 15,000, occupied, for the most 
part, in the cotton industry. By reason of its trade 
this station is the most important commercial centre 
on the line, the bulk of the trade from the Yulatan 
oasis line now converging upon this point. 

The third station from Merv is Sultan-i-band, 
some 76 versts distant and at an altitude of 139.55 
sagenes. A slight change in the character of the 
country is here noticeable; the flat, sandy, barren 
expanse which begins wherever the Yulatan oasis 
leaves off giving place to dense reeds and marshes. 
Water is not drawn from the Murghab River at 
this station, the supply coming from the Khani Yab 
Canal. Originally the region was fertilised by the 
Sultan-i-band; but that once magnificent work has 
fallen into decay, and, although the surrounding 
country contains a large Tekke population, there is 
very little industry. The ruins of the Sultan-i-band 
lie in the immediate vicinity — the word *'band" 
means "dam" — this famous canal once being con- 
nected very closely with the history of Old Merv 
when the waters of the Murghab irrigated that oasis. 
But to-day the commercial importance of the district 
is insignificant and in the year under review only 
3689 poods of cotton were forwarded to Merv. 

The environment of the next station. Imam Baba, 
which is 44 versts distant, reveals on account of 
the prevalence of malaria a very desolate appear- 
ance. It is situated where the sand-hills approach 
the banks of the Murghab River, but the spot is 

106 



MURGHAB VALLEY RAILWAY 

desert and marshy. It rests 148.60 sagenes above 
the sea, drawing its water from the Murghab River. 
There is httle local industry and the district, owing to 
the fever, is very scantily populated. 

The fifth station from Merv is Sari Yazi, where a 
small buffet denotes its importance. The mean gra- 
dient of the line between Merv and this point is 
0.0005 and the distance is 157 versts. The depot is 
situated in the Murghab Valley, bounded on the east 
by the Karabyl Hills, a low-lying ridge of sandy clay. 
It lies 155.57 sagenes high and depends for its water 
upon the Murghab River. Sari Yazi occupies an 
interesting region and is itself the site of an impor- 
tant Turkoman fortress, now in ruins. Among the 
valleys on the northern slopes of the Karabyl Hills 
there are the traces of numerous Tekke villages, 
whose men held the region in subjection while the 
women cultivated the ground. At the station there 
are railway yards and workshops; attached to it is 
a hospital with fifteen beds and barracks for one 
company of the Railway Battalion. 

Tash Kepri, the sixth station from Merv and 197 
versts from that place, is situated in the broad val- 
ley of the Murghab River at its confluence with the 
Kushk River. It is at a height of 164.0 sagenes and 
the water-supply is from the Murghab River. The 
place derives its name from a handsome old brick 
bridge of nine arches, which spans the Kushk River 
at a distance of three-quarters of a mile to the south- 
west of Ak Tepe and connects the station with the 
village. It is also described as Pul-i-Khisti. The 

107 



AFGHANISTAN 

Karabyl Hills, which bound the valley of the Mur- 
ghab on the east, here recede somewhat from the 
river and there is a vestige of cultivation, the green 
plots imparting a welcome note of relief to the gen- 
eral aspect of the scene. Close to the station is a 
monument to the soldiers who fell during the expedi- 
tion of 1885, which was commanded by Lieutenant- 
General Komaroff . Among the trophies of the fight 
were eight guns and the whole of the Afghan camp. 
The monument was erected at the instance of the 
late Commander of the Forces in the Trans-Caspian 
Province, Lieutenant-General Kuropatkin, by those 
who took part in the fight together with the troops 
in garrison in the district. The commercial develop- 
ment of the Tash Kepri district is growing and, con- 
formably with the increase of trade with Afghanistan, 
the station itself is becoming of greater importance. 
Almost upon the frontier and connected with it by 
a carriage-road 22 versts in length, is Takhta Bazaar, 
the headquarters of the Harzagi section of the Pend- 
jeh Sariks who control the Kashan Valley cultiva- 
tion. It is situated on the Murghab River and is 
the only settlement of importance in the Pendjeh 
district. The population comprises Jews, Persians, 
Bokharans, Armenians, Khivans, Russians, Afghans, 
and Tartars. There are, including a native school 
under Russian supervision, 57 buildings in the vil- 
lage, of which at least one-half belong to the Jews. 
The Pendjeh Custom House, a frontier establish- 
ment of the third class through which passes the 
trade with Afghanistan, is situated near it. 

108 



MURGHAB VALLEY RAILWAY 

From Pendjeh the main line, taking a south- 
westerly direction, runs through the narrow valley 
of the Kushk River to Kushkinski Post. Since the 
completion of this work a branch line has been car- 
ried through from Tash Kepri a distance of 22 versts 
along the Murghab to Tanur Sangi, affording a 
supplementary avenue of approach for the pur- 
poses of concentration and the transport of stores to 
points on the actual Russo-Afghan frontier. From 
this extension a further line, 25 versts in length, 
has been projected towards Torashekh from a little 
south-east of Pendjeh up the Kashan Valley. Ten 
miles south-east of Tanur Sangi, at Bala Murghab, 
and 30 miles south of Torashekh, at Kala Nao, the 
Afghans possess strong frontier posts. Herat already 
lay so snugly in the grasp of Russia that it might 
have been spared this little further attention. 

Kala-i-Mor, the station before Kushkinski Post, 
is situated almost mid-way between Pendjeh and the 
terminus at Kushk. It is 244 versts from Merv and 
202 sagenes above sea-level. The position of the 
station, bounded by hills where wild boars are plen- 
tiful and snipe and pheasants offer attractive sport, 
occupies a dreary and desolate scene. There is little 
vegetation and considerable malaria; the local springs 
are quite brackish as the result of extensive deposits 
of salt in the sand. Fresh water is brought by train 
to the station where a drinking-water reservoir has 
been established. No trade exists at Kala-i-Mor, 
which fails to attract a population. 

Beyond Kala-i-Mor, at a distance of 259 versts 

109 



AFGHANISTAN 

from Merv, the line crosses the Kushk River by a 
bridge with stone abutments supported upon iron 
piles. Half-way to Kushkinski Post station, near 
the railway siding, are the ruins of the small fortress 
of Chemen-i-Bed. While approaching it the line 
passes the Alexeieffski village, established by Rus- 
sian colonists in 1892 and containing forty-one fam- 
ilies. This village and the neighbouring one of 
Poltavski, founded in 1896 and where there are 
thirty-five families, are the most southern settle- 
ments within the Russian Empire. The inhabitants 
exist almost entirely by the exportation of inconsid- 
erable quantities of wheat, hay, and straw to Kush- 
kinski Post for the purposes of the garrison. 

Kushkinski Post station, 306.4 sagenes above sea- 
level, is 293 versts from Merv. It possesses a fine 
buffet. The military post, situated near the frontier 
in the broad valley of the Kushk River, is bounded 
by the undulating slopes of the Bend Chengurek 
chain, an offshoot of the Paropamisus. With the 
completion of the Murghab Railway, Kushkinski 
Post immediately attained special importance, and 
in 1900 it was declared a fortress of the fourth rank. 
The hoisting of the Imperial standard over the walls 
was carried out in the presence of the late Minister 
of War, General Kuropatkin. In the early days, 
before the lines of the fortress had been planned, 
Kushkinski Post comprised a number of detached 
works within which the various arms were quartered. 
At that time, too, the officers' accommodation, con- 
sisting of one-storey buildings roughly constructed 

110 



MURGHAB VALLEY RAILWAY 

out of mud, was in the railway settlement where, 
pending the completion of the main works, long 
narrow sheds for the use of the troops had been 
erected. Now improvement has followed upon pre- 
liminary chaos and the men are comfortably housed 
in cool barracks upon the upper slopes of the adjacent 
heights. The oflficers are disposed, with equal care 
and convenience, elsewhere. Public buildings like- 
wise have improved upon their original sites. The 
military hospital, the post and telegraph bureau, and 
the Custom House have taken up locations upon high 
ground, their positions crowned, if not protected, by 
forts upon the crest of these very useful eminences. 
Kushkinski Post, therefore, may be said to be a 
thriving settlement where, if the hours are weari- 
some and the days charged with ennuis there is 
always the prospect of a "dust up." 

Attempts have been made from time to time, by 
officers stationed at Kushkinski Post, to become 
familiar with the officers in command of the Afghan 
posts across the frontier. More often these attempts 
at friendliness have been rebuffed, the Afghan sol- 
diery neither accepting advances from the Russians 
nor making any overtures themselves. Strained 
relations exist, as a rule, between military posts on 
either side of any frontier, although, in regard to 
the Russo-Afghan frontier, there was an occasion 
when friendly conditions prevailed between the Rus- 
sians and the Afghans. At that time the staff of 
the frontier regiment on guard along the Afghan side 
of the border had accepted an invitation to mess at 

111 



AFGHANISTAN 

the Russian post. They arrived in due course — 
appearing in all the full-dress grandeur of second- 
hand railway uniforms! The officer commanding 
the detachment exhibited on the collar of his tunic 
the mystic words "Ticket Collector"; his subordi- 
nate, a subaltern, was content with the less exalted 
label of "Guard." Out of courtesy to their guests 
the Russians suppressed their merriment, receiving 
nevertheless the impression that a portion of the 
subsidy, granted by the Government of India to the 
Amir of Afghanistan, was taken out in the cast-off 
uniforms of British public companies. The facts 
were that the Amir, through his agent in India, had 
acquired a large parcel of discarded clothing at one 
of the annual sales of condemned stores in Northern 
India. 

This exchange of courtesies on the frontier illus- 
trates only the pleasant side of service in this region. 
More serious incidents occur. Occasionally in the 
heat of the chase, when parties of Russian officers 
have crossed the frontier in pursuit of their quarry, 
they have been fired upon by the Afghan patrols 
or ridden down by Afghan sowars. Sporting trips 
around Kushkinski Post or in the valleys of the Mur- 
ghab are infrequent among the Russians, although 
wild boar abound in the thick patches of reeds which 
hem in the banks of the rivers; the tufts of grass, the 
hardy scrub, and the patches of bush also afford 
excellent cover for partridges and pheasants. The 
scarcity of good water at any distance from the rail- 
way is the great drawback to such excursions, since 

112 



MURGHAB VALLEY RAILWAY 

the transport of water is both costly and cumber- 
some. In cantonments goat-skins of the precious 
fluid are brought for sale by water-sellers who 
come round, earning a precarious livelihood by their 
industry. ' ^ 

This custom, which prevails throughout the East, 
was once turned to account by an Afghan who was 
afterwards discovered to be an Hazara sapper from 
the Kabul garrison. Disguised as a water-seller, he 
spent three weeks at Kushkinski Post conducting 
an exhaustive inspection of the works and coming 
every night and morning to the fort with his supplies 
of water. Chance, which in Asia plays no less a part 
in the affairs of man than in Europe, threw across his 
path a native who had visited Kabul some weeks 
before with letters from the Governor-General of 
Turkestan. The Afghan had been deputed by the 
Amir to attend to the Turkestani. He had met and 
escorted him to the capital and back again to the 
western boundary. As the Russian had entered 
Afghanistan from the Kushkinski Post along the Hari 
Rud Valley, he was conducted from the capital to 
the frontier by the route he had first followed. At 
the frontier he had dismissed his Afghan attendant, 
who promptly proceeded to disguise himself as a 
water-carrier and to obtain admission to the station. 
Here he busied himseK daily until, meeting of a 
sudden his late charge, recognition upon the part of 
the Russian subject was immediate and the spy was 
arrested in the act of escaping from the precincts of 
the fort. Suspicion as to the man's identity became 

113 



AFGHANISTAN 

assured when a packet of notes was found, wrapped 
in a rubber sheath, at the bottom of the goat-skin 
water-bag. 

Until the advent of the railway the colony at 
Kushkinski Post, apart from the garrison, comprised 
a few Armenian and Persian traders. With the pro- 
longation of the hne from Merv the civilian popula- 
tion began to increase rapidly. There is, of course, 
no hotel in the station; although the officers of 
the garrison have established a small military club 
wherein they mess together and where, when the 
bi-weekly trains bring the supply of ice, there is 
usually an animated gathering of desolated human- 
ity. At the present time there are in Kushkinski 
Post 123 buildings, of which some 30 odd belong to 
private persons. Apart from the garrison the civil 
population numbers 50 people. 

Kushkinski Post station consists of a handsome, 
spacious structure in the white stone which is brought 
from quarries in the basin of the Kushk. The rail- 
way buildings include a depot with workshops, eight 
bungalows for the heads of the staff and special quar- 
ters for the employees. There are also large barracks 
for the 6th Company of the 1st Trans-Caspian Rail- 
way Battalion, who are not included in the field 
state of the post. All buildings are lighted by elec- 
tricity and the workshops are furnished with electric 
motors, while the water is drawn from springs on 
Gumesli Mountain. 

Kushk region is malarial in consequence of the 
marshy nature of the surrounding country. For 

114 



MURGHAB VALLEY RAILWAY 

some years past measures have been undertaken with 
a view to draining the swamps and regulating the 
running of the streams. By these means it has been 
hoped to render more healthful the general environ- 
ment of the station, including the fortress works, 
Kushkinski village, and the district lying between the 
Afghan frontier post of Kara Teppe and the Russian 
Alexeieffski and Poltavski villages. 

The specific disease which makes duty in the Mur- 
ghab and Kushk Valleys peculiarly obnoxious is a 
low fever of an endemic nature. Its pathological 
history is still undetermined and, although investiga- 
tions have been made into its character and numer- 
ous experiments essayed, the malady is usually fatal. 
In general, the patient is stricken suddenly when the 
liver would appear immediately to be affected, the 
skin becoming yellow and the sufferer lapsing into 
unconsciousness within a few hours of the attack. 
Systematic study of the disease has enabled the med- 
ical authorities to trace it indirectly to the soil from 
which, just as in Africa and any of the countries lying 
within the fever belts, germs are released whenever 
it is disturbed. In this way the most infectious 
points in the Kushk and Murghab Valleys are those 
lying within the cultivated areas, more especially 
around those places where digging operations are of 
frequent occurrence. As the order of life becomes 
more settled and the necessity for any interference 
with the soil disappears, it is anticipated that the 
extreme virulence of the disease may diminish. At 
one time the soldiers of the Railway Battalions were 

115 



AFGHANISTAN 

so susceptible to its ravages that its course assumed 
the appearance of an epidemic. 

No commercial importance belongs to Kushkin- 
ski Post and it is solely the strategic considerations 
which attach to it that give it so much value. In 
the hands of Russia and commanding the trade routes 
into Afghanistan, as well as the road to Herat, Kush- 
kinski Post well might play a leading part in the 
settlement of questions still outstanding between 
Russia and Great Britain in respect of Afghanistan. 
Whether the existence of the post will promote the 
development of trade relations, which are now re- 
stricted by the Amir's Government and directed by 
the Afghan frontier authorities through Khorassan, 
remains to be seen. Nothing can underestimate 
its significance. The post, together with the whole 
of this branch line, is a deliberate military measure 
against Afghanistan, the boundaries of which king- 
dom can almost be seen from the ramparts of the 
forts which crown the crest of the hills. 

Eighteen versts to the south of the fortress, at 
Chahil Dukteran, there are the post of the Russian 
Frontier Guard and the present terminus of the Mur- 
ghab Valley Railway. Beyond may be noted the sol- 
itary figures of the Russian sentinels keeping their 
beat along the extensive line of their position; while 
southward and serving at the moment for a caravan 
route lies the road to Herat. As an interesting link 
in the chain of evidence which points to the future 
use of this road in another way, there is the existence 
of a large store of light railway plant prepared for 

116 



MURGHAB VALLEY RAILWAY 

the purposes of extending it into Afghanistan itself, 
whenever the troops of Russia may require to be 
carried forward to the walls of Herat through the 
passes of the Paropamisus, a little less than 80 
miles. 

To Englishmen another, perhaps less direct and 
more fictitious, interest attaches to this railway. A 
glance at the map of the Eastern hemisphere will 
show that the shortest practicable line of communi- 
cation between London and India lies through Rus- 
sia and across Central Asia. The direction would be 
via Calais, Berlin, Warsaw, Rostov-on-Don, Petrov- 
ski, Baku, Krasnovodsk, Merv, Kushkinski, Girishk, 
and Kandahar. The whole of this distance has now 
been covered by railway, with the exception of the 
span of 195 miles across the Caspian Sea, between 
Baku and Krasnovodsk and the gap of 500 miles 
which still separates Kushkinski Post from New 
Chaman. If these sections were bridged, the jour- 
ney from London to India might be very consider- 
ably shortened, assuming that the present rate of 
speed — 32 miles an hour on the European and 25 
on the Asiatic lines — were maintained. The net 
saving in time, if the railway were completed, would 
be seven days; while the horrors of the Red Sea 
and the monsoon would be but bad dreams to the 
Anglo-Indian traveller. The country between Kush- 
kinski Post and New Chaman presents no obstacle 
to the engineer; the Paropamisus Range could be 
crossed by the Ardewan or the Chashma Sabz Pass, 
neither of which is more than 3400 feet above sea- 

117 



AFGHANISTAN 

level or 1000 feet higher than that of the table-land 
on either side. From this point Herat, the garden 
city of Afghanistan and the key of India, is distant 
only 30 miles; thence the line would be carried by 
way of Sabzawar, Farah, Girishk, and Kandahar to 
New Chaman. 

However, if further railway construction in this 
region is to take place, it will be in connection with 
the development of plans which concern the require- 
ments of potential strategy rather than the humours 
of experimental fantasies. For some time past there 
have been abundant signs that Russia is proposing 
to find compensation in the Middle East for the 
downfall of her prestige in Farther Asia. Certainly 
there is a field for her energies lying fallow in Central 
Asia. The precise quarter where the furrows are 
waiting to be ploughed is between the Central Asian 
Railway and the frontiers of Northern Persia and 
Northern Afghanistan. It is to-day evident that 
sooner or later Russia will improve her communi- 
cations in this direction by adding to the Oren- 
burg-Tashkent system its natural complement — an 
extension to Termes on the Oxus, where there is a 
Russian fortress — or by imparting to her position 
on the Perso-Afghan border that little requisite atten- 
tion which it merits — a railway to Meshed in Kho- 
rassan. Long since is it that these schemes entered 
the domain of practical politics, the Russian military 
position on the Middle Oxus requiring an alterna- 
tive line of communications to that offered by the 
Amu Daria, which, when frozen in winter with the 

118 



MURGHAB VALLEY RAILWAY 

post-roads across the mountains blocked by snow, 
wraps in dangerous isolation the Russian garrisons 
at Termes, Kelif, and elsewhere along this section of 
the frontier. Preliminary surveys for a railway were 
conducted in 1902, when the routes selected followed 
from Samarkand the Shar-i-Sabz, Huzar, Shirabad 
caravan highway to Termes; and, from Farab to 
Termes, the trade route along the Oxus through Bur- 
dalik and Kelif. Further extensions in this direc- 
tion would provide railway communication between 
Huzar and Karki by a bridge across the river, by 
which Huzar would become as important a railway 
junction as it is a caravan and trading centre. Still 
more in the future is the strong probability that 
Karki will be joined with the Afghan frontier at 
Imam Nasar by following the caravan route from 
the river, or with Fend j eh across the fringe of the 
Kara Kum. 

Equally determined has been the intention to 
open up railway communication with the north- 
eastern frontier of Persia, the original surveys 
taking place simultaneously with the parties work- 
ing towards the Oxus. For purposes of the Persian 
railway, two routes were also inspected in this quar- 
ter, the Askhabad-Meshed line receiving the earliest 
attention and warmest support. This scheme, after 
passing through the defiles between Firuza, the sum- 
mer resort of Askhabad society, and Badjira, entered 
Persian territory at Kettechinar; running up the 
Deregez Valley and leaving the Atrek waters near 
their source at Kuchan, it then broke into the Keshef 

119 



AFGHANISTAN 

Rud Valley, striking the caravan road to Meshed 
between Durbadam and Imam Kuli. Great initial 
outlay was made in connection with this railway. 
Its course had been pegged out under the supervi- 
sion of M. Stroieff, dragoman of the Russian Consu- 
late at Meshed, with the help of the Ikram-ul-Mul, 
late Karguzar of Kuchan, to whom 12,000 roubles 
were presented. Further, it was arranged to open 
a branch of the Imperial Russian Bank at Meshed to 
assist the financing of the work, the staff comprising 
an official from St. Petersburg as manager-in-chief, 
an assistant manager from Teheran, with Ali Askar 
Khan, the interpreter of the State Bank at Askhabad. 
The outbreak of hostilities in Manchuria imposed a 
temporary check upon the labours of the construc- 
tion parties, the reflection thus obtained giving rise 
to the advantage of dropping a branch line from 
Tejend station on the Central Asian railway via 
Sarakhs, Daulatabad, Pul-i-Khatun to between Zul- 
filkar and Kala Kafir, wherever some future exten- 
sion of the Askhabad-Meshed line, following the 
Keshef Rud to its meeting with the Hari Rud on 
the actual Perso-Afghan frontier, may terminate. 
The Tejend Rud is the name given to the lower 
waters of the Hari Rud which, flowing by Herat, 
receives midway in its course the Keshef Rud and 
thence runs close to Sarakhs, presenting to any line 
running along the Hari Rud Valley an alternative 
approach to the Afghan city. 

That Herat and Meshed are the objectives of 
Russian railway policy is obvious from a pamphlet 

no 



MURGHAB VALLEY RAILWAY 

issued in 1902 by the Topographical Bureau in St. 
Petersburg and entitled Railways Across Persia. In 
its pages a railway was projected from Kara Kliss, a 
station midway between Tiflis and Erivan, via Tabriz, 
Teheran, Shahrud, to Meshed. The mileage, cost, 
the number of sidings, and names of stations were all 
laid down. The principal stations in the first sec- 
tion — Kara Kliss to Tabriz — were Erivan and 
Julfa. At this moment the span from Kara Kliss to 
Julfa, a distance of 135 miles, is completed, the first 
hundred miles — Kara KlisS to Erivan — being open 
to traffic and the remaining 35 miles — Erivan to 
Julfa — in working order. From Julfa a carriage- 
way, constructed under Russian auspices and in all 
essentials a Russian military road, runs to Tabriz, 
so that Russian schemes for broad gauge railways to 
Herat and Meshed are at least removed from their 
incipient obscurity. 



121 



CHAPTER IX 

TEE MURGHAB VALLEY 

THE river Murghab, which, with the Kashan 
and the Kushk streams, waters the Merv 
oasis and then disappears in the sands of the 
Kara Kum desert, rises in the mass of mountains 
connecting the eastern extremities of the Safed Koh 
and Tir Band-i Turkestan Ranges. It flows in a 
westerly direction through the great valley separating 
these mountain chains and, after receiving the waters 
of numerous tributaries, turns towards the north- 
west to pass the Afghan fortress of Bala Murghab 
and the post of Karawal Khana. At this latter 
point it receives the waters of the Kaisar affluent. 
Continuing in a north-westerly direction it flows past 
Maruchak, lying on the right bank, where a short 
distance below it is joined by the Kashan stream. 
Pendjeh and Ak Tepe are both situated upon the 
left bank. At Ak Tepe the Kushk River, which 
rises in the Paropamisus Range, unites with it and 
from this point the Murghab runs in a due northerly 
direction past Yulatan to Merv, thence running dry 
in the desert. 

Within Russian territory the Murghab River irri- 
gates exclusively the Merv district, and its length 

122 



THE MURGHAB VALLEY 

within the Trans-Caspian Province is about 400 
versts. If its numerous bends were taken into ac- 
count the length of the stream would be 850 versts. 
The Kushk River waters Russian territory for a 
distance of 100 versts, from the Russo- Afghan fron- 
tier to its confluence with the Murghab; the Kashan 
for 60 versts. The width of the Murghab at the 
Kaushut-Khan-Band, 28 versts above the town of 
Merv, is about 23 sagenes; but at Merv itself it 
narrows to 12 sagenes. Its mean depth is 7 feet. 
The rise of the water begins in the middle of March 
and the fall finishes three months later. Between 
June and the middle of October the level of the 
river is determined by the rainfall and snow in 
the neighbouring mountains. About June, when the 
river has fallen, the population experiences the want 
of the water which is necessary for the autumn crop 
of cotton. In years of drought, when the dearth of 
water is felt much earlier — during the period of 
the ripening of the crops, in fact — the population 
are obliged to abandon the greater portion of their 
harvest. 

The country through which these rivers flow is, 
in the main, a mixture of desert waste and cultivated 
strip, with rising uplands carpeted in spring by 
bright flowers and hidden in winter by heavy snows. 
Roads meander along the valleys, sometimes by 
means of rocks and boulders crossing and recrossing 
the stream many times in short stretches or, at 
others, wandering far away from the water-side to 
traverse the broken spurs of hills. Where signs of 

123 



AFGHANISTAN 

cultivation exist, there are indications that the pop- 
ulation has regained confidence in the Russian dom- 
ination of the district. Fields and irrigation canals 
have been cleaned and restored; the sparkle of the 
little rills is reflected in the brilliant sunshine. 

From the broad uplands of the watershed, from 
where to the river bed below there is in general a 
tedious scramble across a confusion of stones and 
brushwood, the tumbled masses of the rounded 
slopes are seen to sink into long undulating sweeps. 
Where the Kushk and Murghab Valleys become 
entangled, a line of sand cliffs disappears in one 
direction into the haze of the Kara Kum and merges 
in another with the Karabyl plateau. In the dis- 
tance the river, spreading itself over a labyrinth of 
canals, passes through a rapid succession of changing 
scenes, until, in the broad arid wastes of the Kara 
Kum, its waters are finally and completely lost. 
South-west of Bala Murghab the valley narrows 
to the dimensions and rugged outlines of a defile. 
Through this the river rolls, tumbling with thunder- 
ous clamour, towards Pendjeh oasis, where it acquires 
a breadth of one to three miles. At Pul-i-Khisti, 
identical with Tash Kepri and a little above the 
Russian settlement of Takhta Bazaar, the stream 
is joined by the waters of the Kushk rivulet, when 
it is not consumed in irrigation. From this point 
the united rivers flow onward to the oases of Yulatan 
and Merv, passing through a broad flat valley, two 
miles in width, bounded on either side by sandstone 
heights. In this stage the river is slow rimning, 

124 



THE MURGHAB VALLEY 

deep, and diflScult to cross, and possessing but few 
fords. Its average breadth varies between 40 and 70 
yards and the most prominent feature is its extreme 
sinuosity. Beyond Bala Murghab the river valley 
is contained on the left bank by an undulating chain 
of low hills, high rocky gorges enclosing the right. 
At this point the sides are steep, with a possible 
height of 24 feet and a surface growth of shrubs 
and willows. A narrow, level strip, tufted with scat- 
tered grasses, lies between the water's edge and the 
hills on the left bank. The river itself flows in a 
single channel, clinging rather closely to the left of 
the valley. It possesses a mean breadth of 70 
yards and a maximum current of 5 miles. The 
depth of the ford is between 3 to 4 feet. 

The valleys which debouch upon the river are 
quite spacious and contain small plots of cultivated 
ground, with here and there a village. Unfortu- 
nately, while the banks of the river are fertile the 
valleys themselves are exceedingly unhealthf ul — a 
low fever, pathologically identical in the two dis- 
tricts of Murghab and Kushk, permeating them. 
Although the great majority of the inhabitants avow 
themselves immune from the disease, they are averse 
to settling in the valleys. A feature of the river is 
the abruptness with which the broad open spaces are 
changed to narrow gorges of no remarkable height. 
This trait in the character of an otherwise respect- 
able inland river compresses so great a volume of 
water into so small a channel that its passage is 
attended with risk. It is not until the spreading 

125 



AFGHANISTAN 

expanses of the Pendjeh, Yulatan, and Merv oases 
have exhausted it that the stream is crossed with 
convenience. At Bala Murghab, where the current 
is very strong and the depth uncertain, deep holes 
in the bottom and masses of protruding rocks, added 
to the hidden dangers from quicksands, make the 
task of fording an intricate proceeding. There are 
two fords at this point, and a similar number are 
in use at Maruchak, Karawal Khana, and Pendjeh, 
while the Russians have restored many stone bridges 
which formerly existed in the Kushk Valley near the 
junction of the Murghab and Kushk Rivers, at Mar- 
uchak and Bala Murghab. The liability of the two 
rivers to sudden floods renders all fords uncertain 
and insecure, particularly in the lower stretches 
between Pendjeh and Merv. More often than not 
necessity dictates the prudence of stripping to the 
skin, when the native, a prayer to Allah on his lips 
and his possessions strapped in a bundle on his head, 
flounders through the water to arrive damp, discon- 
solate, and very scared on the opposite side. Never- 
theless, the best fords are found usually where the 
stream flows swiftly through a narrow bed. At 
such a crossing there is a firm bottom, and foothold 
is readily secured. 

' Many contrivances are used to cross the rivers of 
High Asia. Where the current is sluggish an inflated 
goat-skin is employed. This system is in vogue on 
the Oxus and, in lesser degree, on the Helmund, 
where rafts of bushes are preferred. Along the 
Murghab the indifferent nature of the fords and the 

126 



THE MURGHAB VALLEY 

swiftness of the current in the narrow channels of 
the river make the use of a boat, drawn along a 
hawser, more suited to the needs of the occasion. 
Fords on the Murghab are not so frequent as on the 
Oxus. 

The Kushk Valley extends in Russian and Afghan 
territory some 14 miles. It possesses an average 
breadth of three-quarters of a mile. Its hills, low 
and rounded, are a conglomerate of clay and red 
sand, but bare of trees and with their faces dotted 
with mud cabins. An extensive system of irriga- 
tion is fed by the river and there is much cultivation 
on the tops and sides of the hills. The produce of 
the fields is only sufficient for the immediate wants 
of the native settlers, although the Russians hope, 
now a garrison has been established at Kushkinski 
Post, that the demands of the troops will spur the 
villagers to greater agricultural activity. In Afghan 
territory the valley is the habitat of the Jamshidis, 
who, quiet and tractable, reveal few wants and even 
fewer interests. Excessive irrigation has done so 
much to spread the fever that the population through- 
out the valley has been dwindling gradually. There 
are now less than 4000 families in the entire valley, 
years of peace and prosperity seeming to accentuate 
the restlessness which underlies the nature of all 
nomadic people. A weekly bazaar is held at Kush- 
kinski Post; similar gatherings taking place at Afghan 
Kushk, Bala Murghab, Maruchak, and in the Pend- 
jeh oasis at Takhta Bazaar. Salt, rice, soap, carpets, 
and horses are all brought to the markets, while 

127 



AFGHANISTAN 

the Russians encourage the native merchants under 
their protection to display stocks of Russian sugar, 
matches, and cotton prints. Silks from Meshed and 
Bokhara are also in evidence, but nothing of any 
English or Indian origin. French, American, and 
German products are barred no less rigorously, 
although German matches and French sugar occa- 
sionally escape the specific ostracism which applies 
to British manufactures. 

In the Kushk Valley the fertility of the land is 
dependent upon the flooding of the river by the 
spring rains. As a consequence an ever-present 
feeling of irritation exists in the lower parts of the 
Kushk Valley against the Afghan villagers, who con- 
trol the head waters of the river and divert it to 
their own fields. This difficulty prevails along the 
entire line of the frontier in this region, the demarca- 
tion of the boundary between the two races leaving 
the heads of the canals in Afghan territory. There 
are many exceptions to the misfortune, and, so far 
as possible, the division is arranged in a spirit of 
mutual ownership, although the natives, on the 
Russian side of the frontier, have no claim to com- 
pensation if there should be an insufficient quantity. 
With a river like the Kushk, which possesses an irreg- 
ular volume, the difficulty is much greater than in 
the case of the Murghab or even the Hari Rud. 
Water means to these primitive peoples life and 
existence; and, as cultivation is only rendered possi- 
ble by most assiduous irrigation, the task of conserv- 
ing the supply involves incessant labour. Although 

128 







< M 



H 
P 
O 

o 
"^ 

I— ( 
Xfl 

H 

w 

H 
1-3 
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THE MURGHAB VALLEY 

agricultural activity prevails principally in the Mur- 
ghab and Kushk district there are a few cultivated 
places in the Kashan Valley. It would be useless 
to make any comparison between the former valleys 
and the Kashan. The Kashan valley contains a 
small strip, level, well watered, and about half a 
mile in width, through which percolates a narrow 
stream. In spite of its culturable soil the Kashan 
district is not frequently inhabited, as in the extreme 
hot weather the Kashan River is exhausted by the 
claims made upon it for purposes of irrigation; below 
Robat-i-Kashan, except during the spring floods, 
there is no trace of water. A similar condition of af- 
fairs characterises its companion stream the Kushk; 
at the point of union with the Murghab it is fre- 
quently reduced to a mere trickle. None the less 
during the spring rains each of these rivers is liable 
to sudden floods. Prior to the advent of the railway 
at Tanur Sangi there were but few settlements in 
the valley. There was one at Karawal Khana on 
the right bank of the Murghab and 12 miles south 
of Maruchak, while the next of any consequence 
was at Bala Murghab, upon the same bank and 
more than 20 miles away from Maruchak. At the 
time when the Anglo-Russian Commission was 
adjusting the line of the Russo- Afghan frontier in 
this region, the absence of habitation and human 
settlement of any kind was most marked. Time 
has brought a change. - 

Tanur Sangi is now one of the termini of the 
Murghab Valley Railway. Barracks for the troops 

129 



AFGHANISTAN 

who are occupying the post have been built on the 
heights of the valley, the dense vegetation has been 
burnt off, and a system of drainage applied to the 
neighbouring swamps. For the moment the Mar- 
uchak district, extending equally within Russian 
and Afghan territory, is pregnant with prospects, and 
the advent of the Russians there has been followed 
by an influx of native settlers. Upon the Afghan 
side of the river there are similar indications, by 
reason of the arrival of the levies who garrison the 
Afghan forts at Bala Murghab, Maruchak, Kala 
Nao, and elsewhere. 

The river is the dividing-point between Russian 
and Afghan possessions at Maruchak for 15 miles. 
Still it is interesting to note that the natural fron- 
tier between Maruchak and Pendjeh is at the north- 
ern end of the Maruchak Valley, where the hills, 
closing in upon the river on both sides, separate the 
Maruchak acres from those of the Pendjeh oasis. 
Formerly, too, the Murghab flowed down the north- 
ern end of the Maruchak Valley, washing the western 
face. It has now changed its course and, sweeping 
from west to east, washes the eastern aspect. This 
deviation had an important bearing upon the find- 
ings of the Anglo-Russian Commission. Under their 
correct and literal interpretation of the protocol the 
Russians were debarred from exercising any claim 
over the waters of canals employed for irrigation, 
provided their heads were in Afghan territory. By 
the change in the direction of the Murghab the 
head of the waters supplying the Pendjeh oasis, 

130 



THE MURGHAB VALLEY 

which proceed from the Band-i-Nadir Canal on the 
left bank of the Murghab, was placed within 
Afghan territory. A modification of the situation 
was urged; finally the boundary was made to pass 
from Zulfikar on the Hari Rud to the Kushk and 
from the head of the canal in the Kashan Valley to 
the head of the Band-i-Nadir on the Murghab, due 
west of Maruchak instead of to a point north of it. 
This readjustment permitted control of the head 
waters of the Band-i-Nadir to revert to Russia. 

The Afghan fortress of Maruchak has experienced 
a varying fortune, the vicissitudes of which once 
brought it to ruin and caused its defences to be 
abandoned. Since then the advance of the Rus- 
sians has thrown it into prominence again. Its walls 
have been restored, although it can never serve any 
other purpose than that of a frontier post of observa- 
tion. The fortress is in the shape of a square of 
which the outer walls, measuring some 600 yards, 
rise 20 feet from the side of a moat. The main en- 
trance faces the river on the west. Other entrances 
of less importance are placed at the north-east and 
south-east angles. In the centre, rising from a cir- 
cular mound some 40 feet in height with a diam- 
eter of 250 yards, is an inner fortress. Quarters for 
the troops have been constructed along the eastern 
wall where there is now accommodation for 1000 
men. Gun towers stand at the four corners of the 
main wall and an infantry platform runs round the 
inner face of the square, a few feet below the parapet. 
At an angle of the inner fortress and slightly higher 

131 



AFGHANISTAN 

than the fortress itself is the citadel, some 80 yards 
square, where a last stand would be made. The walls 
and bastions of this are about 15 feet high and gun 
platforms have been constructed at the corners. 

Bala Murghab, a sister fortress, is smaller than 
Maruchak and lies about 46 miles south-east of 
Pendjeh. The principal work consists of a fort 120 
yards square, situated on a mound itself 30 feet in 
height; the walls of the fort rise a further 15 feet. 
An underground passage from it leads to the river 
and there are quarters for 200 cavalry, 300 infan- 
try, and one battery of artillery, besides storehouses 
and a magazine. The interior of the fort in its 
present size does not afford accommodation for the 
existing garrison, all of whom are Irregulars with 
the exception of the officers. The larger proportion 
of the mounted men have their lines outside the 
walls. On a mound, which hitherto has marked 
the ruins of an ancient citadel, a more commodious 
fort has been constructed. It stands at the bend 
of the river, covering Robat-i-Ishmail and protect- 
ing the entrance to the Mangan defile. Its dimen- 
sions provide for a square of 200 yards, with walls 
25 feet in height and an inner defence work 
standing some 50 feet higher. 

Independent of the regular garrison at Herat, 
there is a levy roll for the Bala Murghab district 
of 1000 mounted and dismounted men. Two hun- 
dred of the former are supposed always to be mus- 
tered as Bala Murghab finds details for a number 
of outlying fatigues, including pickets at the fords 

132 



THE MURGHAB VALLEY 

and certain mounted patrols. In the immediate 
vicinity of the fort there is a settlement containing 
several thousand families. It should be remembered 
that the garrison at this point is comprised of Afghan 
Irregulars, who still retain their old titles and organ- 
isation. Their company strength is 100 and each 
company is quite independent of the remaining ones. 
Five companies form the command of a Sarhang, 
whose superior ofl&cer is a Sartip. Each company 
commander is known as a Sad Bashi; and for every 
ten men there is a Dah Bashi. In the regular Afghan 
army the commissioned ranks are known by the Eng- 
lish equivalent; but in general the military organisa- 
tion, whether regular or irregular in men as in 
materiel, is hopeless. 

No point in the Murghab region is more important 
than the Pendjeh oasis as an agricultural colony. 
It is principally confined to the limits of a single 
valley, some 25 miles in length and 2 miles in 
breadth. Dotted about its spreading expanse there 
are a number of tiny settlements, containing in all 
some eight to nine thousand households. The areas 
under cultivation do not return sufficient grain to 
support so large a population; there is, therefore, 
a constant migration of Pendjeh Sariks to the 
adjacent valleys of Kushk and Maruchak as well 
as to the more distant oases of Yulatan and Tejend, 
where they have become ardent agriculturists. 

The settlers in the Pendjeh Valley are divided into 
five sections. Although united by tribal ties inter- 
communal jealousies are responsible for continuous 

133 



AFGHANISTAN 

discord. The richest and most influential section is 
that of the Soktis, who occupy the land on the west- 
ern bank of the Murghab between Pendjeh, Kuh- 
nah, and Sari Yazi, a distance of some 35 miles. 
The Harzagis settlement, lying on the same bank, 
extends between Takhta Bazaar and Maruchak; 
between these two large settlements are the areas 
occupied by the Khorassanlis. The two remaining 
sections, the Bairach and the Alishah, share the 
opposite bank. 

The occupation of the Pendjeh Valley by the 
Sariks took place about thirty years ago, when they 
were turned out of Merv by certain of the Tekke 
tribes. At first the Soktis were the sole possessors 
of the district; but, as other parties came in detach- 
ments from Merv, the different sections, increasing 
in numbers and in strength, were able to enforce 
upon the earlier arrivals a general division of the 
valley. Under existing arrangements the Pendjeh 
oasis has developed, the advent of the railway having 
attracted the attention of the Russians to its agri- 
cultural capacity. There must be now some 75,000 
acres under cultivation, the entire area owing its 
fertility to the Murghab River, whose waters are 
confined by the Band-i-Nadir. 

The Yulatan oasis, which is inhabited by those 
Sarik Turkomans who moved from the Pendjeh 
Valley, similarly possesses an unfailing supply of 
water from the huge dam, Band-i-Kazakli. This is 
drawn from the Murghab River by a canal and 
affords water to 125,000 acres, at a velocity of 1500 

134 



THE MURGHAB VALLEY 

feet per second. The depth of the canal is sufficient 
to carry a camel off its legs. Near the site of the 
dam are the ruins of the Sultan-i-band, a work far 
vaster than any of the present day. It gave 28 feet 
head of water and made the fields and gardens of 
Old Merv the most fertile region upon the globe's 
surface. The Sultan-i-band was destroyed in 1784 
by the Amir Murad of Bokhara, an act which 
completely ruined the prosperity of Merv. Just a 
century later the Tsar, to whose private estates the 
site of Old Merv belongs, ordered the construction 
of an anient 13 miles up stream. The work was 
carried out by Colonel Kashtalinski, superintendent 
of the State domains at Bairam Ali. It includes a 
dam which gives 14 feet head of water and it is 
connected with a series of storage basins, feeding 
a central canal 20 miles long. This in its turn sup- 
plies 35 miles of secondary canals and 105 miles of 
distributaries. The cost of these splendid opera- 
tions was about £105,000; an expenditure which 
was declared by an eminent English authority on 
irrigation to be one-fifth of what a similar work 
would entail in India. It is in contemplation to 
restore the Sultan-i-band at an estimated cost of 
£210,000, by which a further measure of prosperity 
will be assured to the locality. The area thus irri- 
gated amounts to 15,000 acres; 5000 of which are 
under cotton, while 3675 grow wheat and barley. 
The whole is let out to Turkomans and Bokharans. 
The mountains of cotton waiting for transport by 
rail in the season are a standing proof of the excel- 

135 



AFGHANISTAN 

lence of crops, which are said to return but little 
short of one hundredfold. The demand for farms 
within this fertile area is so great that the natives 
compete for the privilege of holding one at a rent in 
kind amounting to a quarter of the gross produce. 
In spite of prohibitions subletting is very rife and 
one plot frequently supports several families. 



136 



CHAPTER X 

HERAT AND THE WESTERN BORDER 

THE province of Herat extends from near the 
sources of the Hari Rud on the east to 
the Persian frontier on the west, and from 
the Russian southern boundary to the northern Hmits 
of Seistan. The area is 300 miles from east to west 
and 200 miles from north to south. North, south, 
and west there are tracts of unproductive country, 
presenting facilities for development only over re- 
stricted surfaces. In the east the upper reaches of 
the Hari Rud Valley stretch away to the mountain 
regions of the Koh-i-Baba. It has been estimated 
that the valley of the Hari Rud is capable of furnish- 
ing supplies for an army of occupation which should 
not exceed 150,000 men. It is this fact, coupled with 
the value of its position as the converging point of 
roads from the Caspian, Merv, Meshed, Bokhara, 
and from India through Kandahar, which has in- 
vested Herat with the title of The Key of India. 
The Hari Rud oasis presents a wonderful appearance 
of fertility; near the city, groves of pistachia and 
mulberry trees, blackberry bushes, wild roses, and 
innumerable settlements abound. The Hari Rud, 
flowing in a single channel 100 to 140 feet in width 

137 



AFGHANISTAN 

which diminishes as the summer wanes, has been the 
means of converting into a smiling paradise the sur- 
rounding wilderness. Flood-water in this river lasts 
from the close of January until the end of March, 
when fords are dangerous to cross. The subsidence 
of flood-water in April makes it more readily pas- 
sable, the average depth of the fords then measuring 
4 feet. Later, when the warmer weather appears, 
the permanent channel breaks up into long lakes, fed 
by springs and underground continuations of sup- 
plementary streams. The northern extremity of the 
river, which waters the Tejend oasis and the Sarakhs 
region, preserves in the main the characteristics of 
the upper stream. The undulating country between 
the Hari Rud and the Murghab, extending from the 
northern slopes of the Paropamisus to the edge of 
the Kara Kum, is called Badghis. At one time this 
district included the oasis of Yulatan and even now 
it embraces Pendjeh. Across it, along the banks of 
the Murghab and through the valley of the Kushk, 
runs the direct road from Merv to Herat. From the 
levels of valleys within Russian jurisdiction, which 
are about 2000 feet above sea-level, the road rises 
throughout a distance of 35 miles until it pierces the 
Paropamisus Range by the Ardewan Pass, 4700 feet 
above sea-level. From these mountains it descends 
across the broken slopes of the Koh-i-MuUa Khwaja 
until it meets at last the alluvial flats of the Hari 
Rud plain, wherein the city of Herat stands, 2600 
feet above sea-level. 

The city of Herat, built entirely of mud with 

138 



THE WESTERN BORDER 

certain outworks lying beyond its walls, stands in a 
hollow. It forms a quadrangle 1600 yards by 1500 
yards. On the western, southern, and eastern faces 
the wall is a straight line, the only projecting points 
being the gateways and the bastions. On the north- 
ern face, the line is broken by the old Ark or citadel, 
which stands back about 200 yards from the main 
wall and is situated upon a high, artificial mound, 
which is 250 feet in width and between 50 and 60 
feet in height. Above this the walls of the city rise 
an additional 30 feet. There are five gates — the 
Kutabchak near the north-east angle of the wall 
and the Malik gate at the re-entering angle formed 
by the wall of the Ark and the continuation of the 
north wall. The other gates are on the western, 
southern, and eastern faces, the names respectively 
being the Irak, Kandahar, and Kushk. Four streets, 
running from, the centre of each face, meet at the 
Charsu, a domed square covered with beams and 
matting in the heart of the city. A wide road 
encircles the walls on the inside, although its upkeep 
has been sadly neglected. The defences of the city 
are contained by the wall which stands above the 
mound. On its outer slope there were at one time 
two parallel trenches, covered by low parapets; but 
the trenches, like the moat at the foot of the mound, 
are now choked up. There are 25 bastions on each 
wall. The gates, defended by works differing from 
one another in shape, are of irregular design. They 
resemble redans with sides of unequal length, and 
project about 200 feet beyond the main wall. The 

139 



AFGHANISTAN 

defences of the gateways are of a lower profile than 
those of the main works. At the apex of the pro- 
jection a small rectangular traverse screens the 
postern. 

The northern wall is irregular. Near its centre, 
thrown back about 200 yards from the main wall and 
standing on a mound of its own, is the position of the 
old citadel. A "return" in the wall, leading down on 
this work from the eastern portion of the north face, 
terminates on the counterscarp of its ditch. The 
western face, retired about 100 yards behind the east- 
ern face, connects with the north-west angle of the 
citadel by a slight bend. There are two gateways on 
this front, the one about 200 yards to the westward 
of the north-east angle and the other in the main 
wall. This latter is unprovided with the irregular 
projecting work attached to the others. 

The wall of the fort is about 14 feet thick at the 
base, 9 feet thick at the top and 18 feet high, exclu- 
sive of the parapet. The parapet is 2J feet thick 
at the base, 9 inches at the crest, and 7J feet in 
height. It is loop holed and crowned with the ruins 
of small battlements which, like so much attaching 
to Herat, have been permitted to crumble away. 
In several places the walls have broken down, the 
repairs subsequently effected adding to the general 
insecurity of what has remained rather than im- 
proving the original breaches. The width of the 
pathway behind the parapet is 6 feet; but there are 
many gaps, and continuity of communication is pre- 
served only by the severe physical exertion of flying 

140 



THE WESTERN BORDE:^ 

leaps. Their condition renders them ill-adapted to 
the employment of artillery, while the ramps leading 
up to this pathway are barely broad enough to 
admit the passage of a single man. 

At one time this wall was flanked by small exterior 
towers, placed at intervals of 100 feet. They varied 
in size and are now so generally in ruin that it is 
difficult to estimate their dimensions. In their orig- 
inal state they were probably from 40 to 60 feet in 
diameter, the larger towers being 30 feet in width 
and projecting 25 feet. In contrast with the con- 
taining wall of the city the wall of the fort possesses 
an outward inclination, equal perhaps to one-seventh 
of its height. The slope of the towers is generally 
greater; many of them are splayed at the base to 
accommodate their foundations to the sloping surface 
upon which they rest. The whole work appears 
originally to have been constructed of sun-dried 
brick, backed with layers of moist earth. Some of 
the towers have foundations and facings of rough 
stone or burnt brick, laid in mud. The wall itself 
is a very old one; stone, brick, and earth have been 
used indiscriminately, so that it now presents a 
patchwork appearance. 

The interior slope of the mound, upon which the 
walls stand, is steep and from the base of the wall 
drops perpendicularly into the town. No attention 
whatever appears to have been paid to this part of 
the fortifications. The inhabitants of the city have 
been for several generations in the habit of removing 
earth from it for the construction or repair of their 

141 



AFGHANISTAN 

dwellings. At one time, too, houses were erected 
close to the foot of the rampart and also upon it, the 
slope being excavated to admit of the walls being 
erected against it. A partial collapse of the mound 
has followed, the fallen masses of earth serving as a 
convenient resting-place for the dead. 

The old citadel is a brick structure 150 yards long 
from east to west and 50 yards wide. It occupies 
an elevation of its own, and, when erected, stood 
nearly in the centre of the north face of the city. It 
was flanked by several towers, differing greatly in 
size; those at the angles were the largest, while those 
on the north-east angle were the most imposing. 
The interior, in part occupied by Feramorz Khan, 
the Commander-in-Chief, is divided into three courts. 
The inhabited portion is a lofty building, supported 
by four bastions along its face, with the entrance 
gate facing the main street to the Charsu. It fills 
a space 110 yards in length by 60 yards in breadth. 
The Ark, from its massive appearance, is very digni- 
fied, but it is not calculated to withstand protracted 
defence if the town itself were captured. Its walls, 
thickly built but of inferior masonry, are exposed 
from base to parapet, and a few shells dropped 
behind them would create great havoc. 

The Ark-i-nao, or new citadel, serves as a parade- 
ground for the garrison. Weak both in plan and 
profile, it is constructed in advance of the mound, 
but 80 feet below it and upon a level with the 
country. It consists of four straight walls 300 yards 
in length. The face is flanked by five semicircular 

142 



THE WESTERN BORDER 

towers, each possessing a diameter of 30 feet. The 
walls are 13 feet thick at the base and 8 feet at the 
top, crowned on their outer edge by a parapet 6 feet 
high and IJ feet thick. There was once a ditch 30 
feet in width and 15 feet in depth at a distance of 
60 feet from its base, but it is now a general recep- 
tacle for the refuse of the city. 

Within recent years the fortifications of Herat 
have undergone radical alteration. At one time, 
prior to the Pendjeh crisis, the city could not be said 
to possess an esplanade nor any free field of fire. 
Detached buildings, even small villages, surrounded 
it, while cultivation extended close to the walls; and 
where agriculture ended the cemeteries of the city 
began. Mosques, tombs, and reservoirs stood oppo- 
site the gateways, some of them lying within 100 
yards of the walls. Vast mounds of earth were also 
close at hand. Many of these defects were removed^ 
under the guidance of the British officers who were 
assisting in the demarcation of the Russo-Afghan 
boundary in 1884-1887; in 1903-1904, under the 
supervision of Feramorz Khan, additional improve- 
ments were made and a number of mountain and 
field batteries installed. 

In general the Herati is not a fighting man and 
cares little for military appearances. Indeed, if 
choice were left to the Heratis they would sooner 
surrender at once to the Russians than run the risk 
of future disturbances. The garrison is not generally 
drawn from the locality and seldom includes many 

1 "The Indian Borderland." Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich. 

143 



AFGHANISTAN 

Herati, Hazara, or Taimani recruits. Commanded 
by Feramorz Khan, it is composed mainly of regi- 
ments from Kandahar and Kabul, whose men lounge 
through the streets in unkempt undress or clad in 
dirty linen and to whom belongs such little martial 
spirit as may be detected in the city. In this direc- 
tion nothing can be more marked than the difference 
between the Herati and the Afghan soldier. The 
former, a peasant pure and simple, is unversed in 
military science, while it is a rare sight to see the sol- 
diers without an extraordinary number and variety 
of weapons attached to their persons. Each carries, 
as a rule, two pistols, a sword, rifle, and many knives, 
their swagger and overbearing disposition causing 
them to be hated by the wretched population. The 
position of the city to-day as between Russia and 
India is rather that of a woman whose wares are put 
up to the highest bidder. It is not particularly par- 
tial to the rule of the Amir, to the overtures of Rus- 
sia, or to the influence of India. One might say that 
it were indifferent alike to each of these three inter- 
ested parties and that it is merely a question of price 
which will determine its surrender. It must be con- 
fessed that the fortress occupies an unfortunate 
position. Whatever the garrison might attempt in 
support of the huge earthworks which the place 
boasts, there is no doubt that the sympathies of the 
population — if the history of the past goes for any- 
thing — would be given to any who contrived to 
evict the Afghans ; and, as all reports concur in allud- 
ing to the lavish manner in which Russian roubles 

144 



THE WESTERN BORDER 

have circulated in the province, the statement may 
be hazarded that, under certain contingencies, the 
tribes on the north-western border of Afghanistan 
would declare for the Russians. Upon this aspect 
of the situation various changes introduced by the 
Amir into the administration of Herat province, and 
concerning equally all posts along the banks of the 
Oxus and the western border, have direct bearing. 
Although there is practically no intercourse between 
the Afghan and Russian posts on either bank of the 
Amu Daria, indeed the ferry station at Chushka 
Guzar is constantly sniped from the Afghan bank 
by Pathan pickets, there has been an insidious 
growth of association between the Herat officials and 
the Russians. Quite lately the Kazi Saad-ud-Din, 
Governor of Herat, was recalled, the Shaghassi Mo- 
hammed Sarwar Khan taking his place, while a warn- 
ing was administered to the commaiider-in-chief. 
There is no doubt that these officials accepted compli- 
mentary gifts from the Russian officials at Merv, and 
the transference of the one and the rebuke of the 
other may check the propensity of the native to find 
in the efficacious application of the Russian rouble a 
panacea for all evils. In respect of the soldiers them- 
selves, orders have been issued from Kabul that all 
detachments on frontier duty are to be relieved 
monthly. Obviously Herat is too close to the Rus- 
sian border not to have been intimidated by the 
spectacle of Russia's strength in Central Asia. A 
similar state of things might not be expected to pre- 
vail in Kabul and Kandahar. Kabul is too much 

145 



AFGHANISTAN 

under the personal sway of the Amir to express any 
active interest in Russia or India, while Kandahar has 
been associated too closely with the reverses which 
British arms have experienced in Afghanistan to have 
overmuch respect for the greatness of Hindustan. 
Russia is really the supreme and dominating factor 
in Afghanistan, not only along the northern, eastern, 
and western frontiers, but throughout the kingdom. 

Herat is a dirty town. The small lanes, crooked 
and narrow, which branch from the main thorough- 
fares, are roofed and their gloom offers safe harbour- 
age for the perpetration of every possible offence. 
The breadth of the streets is only 12 feet, but in 
their narrowest parts even this space is reduced. 
Pools of stagnant water left by the rains, piles of 
refuse thrown from the houses, together with dead 
cats, dogs, and the excrement of human beings, min- 
gle their effluvia in these low tunnels. Much of the 
city has been abandoned and various travellers, in 
reporting their experiences, agree that the bazaars 
are of a very inferior order. On either side of the 
streets there are spacious serais where the merchants 
have their depots. The western face of the city is 
the least populated, the buildings in this quarter 
being a mass of ruins. The houses are constructed 
usually in the form of hollow squares. They are 
commonly of one storey, built of brick and mud, 
with very thick walls. The roofs are vaulted and 
composed, equally with the walls, of mud; the en- 
trances are low and winding. These houses are 
quite incombustible. The larger establishments have 

146 



THE WESTERN BORDER 

stable and servants' courts attached to them, and 
every courtyard has, in its centre, a well or small 
reservoir for the reception of water. All the houses 
are more or less capable of resisting men armed with 
rifles, and a determined garrison might, by barri- 
cading the streets leading to the ramparts and 
loopholing the adjacent houses, protract the defence 
of the place for some time after the walls had been 
gained by the enemy. There are several spacious 
caravansaries in the town, all of which open upon 
the street leading from the Kandahar gate to the 
citadel and would serve, in emergency, for the accom- 
modation of troops. 

The principal building in Herat is the Masjid-I- 
Jama, which comprises an area of 800 yards square. 
It was built at the end of the fifteenth century, in 
the reign of Shah Husein by his relative Prince 
Shibali. When perfect it was 465 feet long and 
275 feet wide; it had 408 cupolas, 130 windows, 444 
pillars, 6 entrances, and was adorned in the most 
magnificent manner with gilding, carving, precious 
mosaic, and other elaborate and costly embellish- 
ments. It stands in the north-east quarter of the 
city, about 300 yards from the east walls. 

The palace of Chahar Bagh is situated to the west 
of the Masjid-i-Jama and was originally the winter 
residence of the chiefs of Herat. It is now the resi- 
dence of the Governor of the city, but has been con- 
siderably enlarged and improved. A fine garden has 
been laid out with flower-beds and a fountain. It is 
enclosed on either side. 

147 



AFGHANISTAN 

The inhabitants of Herat, who are mostly Shiah 
Mohammedans, comprise Afghans, Hazaras, Jam- 
shidis, and Tiamanis, with 700 Hindoos and some 
400 famihes of Jews. Its population has always 
been subject to constant fluctuation. The existing 
number is now a little less than 18,000 people, 
exclusive of the garrison, which in peace numbers 
5 regiments of regular infantry, 20 squadrons of 
cavalry, 1 battalion of sappers, and 8 batteries. 

The city has declined considerably from its quon- 
dam opulence. There is scarcely any trade and the 
houses are deserted. It is, nevertheless, famous for 
its fruit and its breed of horses ; but the Heratis have 
endured too many of "the slings and arrows of out- 
rageous fortune" to be able to withstand adversity 
and bad seasons. Wars and sieges, pestilence and 
famine have had their effect; and the scene, which 
Vambery described so brightly, is now sombre and 
melancholy. No longer is Herat the great central 
market between India and Persia. It still receives a 
certain amount of merchandise from Kabul, such as 
shawls, indigo, sugar, chintz, muslin, bafta, kincob, 
hides, and leather. These are exported to Meshed, 
Yezd, Teheran, Baghdad, and Kirman, and ex- 
changed for tea, sugar-candy, china-ware, broad- 
cloth, chintz, silk, copper, pepper, dates, shawls, 
numnahs, carpets, and all kinds of spices. Silk is 
obtainable in the vicinity of Herat, and lambs' 
fleeces and sheepskins are made up locally into caps 
and cloaks. There are, too, a number of native 
craftsmen who work in silk and metals, leather, 

148 



THE WESTERN BORDER 

iron, and wood; but there are few opportunities for 
their skill and no money with which to pay for it. 
The carpets of Herat, once so famed for softness and 
for the brilliance and permanence of their colours, 
are no longer in demand. At one time they were 
made in all sizes, ranging in price from 10 to 1000 
rupees; but their day is gone. Indeed, in its pres- 
ent impoverished state, the city is eloquent only 
of a bygone grandeur. Everything is decayed and 
decrepit. 



149 



CHAPTER XI 

KANDAHAR 

THE road from Herat to Kandahar lies through 
districts rich in suppHes. From Herat there 
are two great roads, a northern and a south- 
ern, the latter passing through Sabzawar, Farah, and 
Girishk to Kandahar, in which district it crosses the 
Zamindawar country, peopled in the main by the 
Duranis as far as the fords on the Helmund. 

Sabzawar, which is 280 miles from Kandahar, is 
situated almost midway between Herat and Farah 
— 90 miles from Herat and 71 miles from Farah. 
It stands 3550 feet above sea-level on the left bank 
of the Harud River, in an elbow of the stream 
and at the foot of the outlying spurs of the main 
ranges. Beyond and partly surrounding it there is a 
wide open plain, some 4 miles in circumference, well 
irrigated from the waters of the Harud River and, 
as a consequence, highly productive. The Sabza- 
war district contains the most fertile areas in the 
Herat Province, a benevolent attention upon the 
part of Nature that renders the region of service as 
an intermediate base of supplies. No force, indeed, 
could resist the temptation of staying at such a 
point to refresh both man and beast, and to re- 

150 



KANDAHAR 

assemble its transport. The position is readily pro- 
tected and the defensive value of the heights, which 
lie 2 miles distant to the south of the town, could 
be supplemented by the flooding of the lowlands 
from numerous water-courses which intersect the 
plain. The town draws its water from the Harud 
River, but certain of the villages are dependent 
upon canals. Several ruins impart an air of desola- 
tion to the plain, yet a pleasing sense of cultiva- 
tion exists around the town itself, arising from the 
sparkle of running water and the freshness of green 
trees. 

In recent years Sabzawar has outgrown its origi- 
nal dimensions, and the fort, a square structure with 
walls 200 yards to 250 yards in length, seven circular 
bastions on each front and one gate in the south face, 
has been abandoned. Its walls are in ruins and the 
interior is uninhabited, save for a small colony of 
Shikarpuri Hindoos. Outside the wall is a ditch, 
now dry and partially filled with refuse. In the cen- 
tre of this forlorn scene there is the Governor's resi- 
dence, permitting a pleasant view of green trees and 
fresh-looking grass, cool and even healthful. The 
town proper, although such a dignified description 
is inaccurate as the great majority of the popula- 
tion live in villages beyond the walls, is well-to-do, 
thriving, and the centre of a busy trade. Between 
Nasratabad and itself trade is peculiarly active, the 
hides, wool, goat-skins, and dried fruits forwarded 
from Seistan to Turkestan making it a point of call. 
Piece-goods, sugar, and iron-ware are imported in 

151 



AFGHANISTAN 

return. The export trade of the town has an an- 
nual value of 1,500,000 rupees Indian, and the reve- 
nue of the district is 33,000 tomans in cash, and 
4000 kharwars in grain. The trade is controlled by 
Russian Armenian merchants who, resident in its 
vicinity, travel between Seistan and the surrounding 
region, pushing articles of Russian manufacture. Their 
activity in this respect has created an important de- 
mand for such goods, which quite ousts the few signs 
of Indian trade that the place at one time revealed. 

Sabzawar, the town, is enclosed within a high 
wall, pierced by four gates — the Irak gate on the 
west, the Nishapur gate on the east, the Herat gate 
on the north, and the Farah gate on the south. The 
bazaar, in which are nearly 800 shops, stretches 
between the eastern and western gates across the 
town. Its breadth is possibly half a mile and the 
circumference of the town is a little under 2j miles. 
The town is only a gathering place for the district 
which supports a number of villages and, together 
with the enveloping pasturage and a wide belt of 
cultivation, is inhabited by Nurzai Duranis. Each 
village is a small fort in itself and is surrounded by 
a high mud-wall erected for purposes of security. 
In size these forts are about 60 yards square; in 
all there may be some 5000 households in the dis- 
trict, which may be apportioned into 4500 in the 
villages, 400 in the town, 100 in the fort, with a 
combined population of 12,000 souls. 

Before reaching Farah it is necessary to cross the 
Farah Rud. This river, rising in the Taimani coun- 

152 



KANDAHAR 

try, flows past Farah and Lash into the Hamun at 
its north-west angle, after a southerly course 200 
miles in length. Its volume varies with the seasons. 
The water is usually clear and not quite drinkable 
for, after the main stream has been exhausted by the 
fields, the pools which remain in its deeper parts 
quickly become stagnant. In the spring it is a 
wide, deep river, always with sufficient water for 
irrigation in its course: even when nearly dry, water 
is to be found by digging a foot into the river-bed. 
In the summer it is crossed on inflated skins or rafts 
of wood and reeds. The banks of the Farah Rud 
are covered with a jungle growth of tamarisk and 
mimosa. At the point where it is crossed by the 
north road from Herat to Kandahar it is fordable, 
although the bed is very irregular, with alternate 
rapids and deep pools. The ford is 1000 feet in 
breadth, but the channel in the dry season contracts 
to 50 yards, with a depth of 2J feet. During the 
flood season caravans are apt to be detained for 
many weeks. At Farah the banks are 400 yards 
apart, with a stream in the dry season of 150 yards 
in breadth and 2 feet of water. At this point it is 
both clear and rapid. 

Farah, 2460 feet above sea-level, lies 170 miles 
south of Herat, 71 miles from Sabzawar on the 
south Kandahar road, 150 miles from Girishk, and 
225 miles from Kandahar. It is a square, walled 
town; lying north and south, and standing well out 
in the plain, it has a diameter of one mile and is in 
ruins. The wall by which it is surrounded is strongly 

153 



AFGHANISTAN 

reminiscent of Herat and comprises an enormous 
embankment of earth, mixed with chopped straw. 
A covered way entirely surrounds it on the outside, 
and its original height was between 35 and 40 feet. 
Towers rested on the ramparts at one time, but, 
deserted by its inhabitants and neglected by the 
garrison which is its sole population, it has fallen 
altogether from its high estate. The town has two 
gates, that of Herat in the centre of the north 
face and that of Kandahar exactly opposite on the 
south side, the citadel occupying the north angle 
of the wall. Farah is no longer a city. Desolate, 
ruined, and abandoned, its position still is of ex- 
treme importance, as it commands the Herat and 
Kandahar road and the northern entrance into Seis- 
tan. But the water in the fort is bad and the 
place is unhealthful. A general bonfire of the re- 
mains should complete the wreck which time has so 
nearly accomplished. Nowadays it does not con- 
tain more than fifty houses, yet it could easily hold 
several thousand. Those still standing are con- 
cealed by the ruins; and scattered jets of smoke, 
rising from heaps of debris, are the only indications 
of actual life. Formerly a bazaar crossed the town 
from the Kandahar gate to the Herat gate; but the 
few shops which remain are now congregated near 
the Herat gate, the sole industry of the people be- 
ing the manufacture of gunpowder from saltpetre. 
This is collected from the numerous water-pits which 
go to make up the general character of the scene 
within the walls. 

154 



KANDAHAR 

Between Farah and Kandahar there is the Bakwa 
plain, which is associated in the minds of the Afghans 
with a tradition that identifies it with the scene of 
some future battle between the Russian and British 
forces. The plain is a dead level stretch without 
trees or growth of any kind to vary its monotony, 
and it is to its western end that the scene of the 
prophecy refers. The usual version of the story 
mentions as a concluding detail that, after the fight, 
no less then 12,000 riderless horses will be found 
wandering over it.^ The Afghans attach consider- 
able belief to this prophecy which, according to 
Colonel Yate who went to the pains of unearthing 
its origin, may be attributed to a native of Kuchan, 
Shah Ni'-Amat Ulla Wani of Kirman, who died in 
the year 1400 at the age of ninety-seven, having 
attained considerable reputation as an author, phi- 
losopher, and sage. 

From Farah to Girishk, situated on the Helmund 
River, is a distance of 150 miles. This river, which 
rises at Fazindaz in the western slopes of the Pagh- 
man Mountains, flows with a course generally south- 
west for over 600 miles, ultimately falling into the 
Seistan Lake. The first point about which any reli- 
able information exists is at Gardan Diwar, about 
40 miles from its source. It here runs along the 
north side of the Urt plateau at an elevation of 
11,500 feet, about 12 yards wide, less than a foot 
in depth in winter, and with a brisk current; it is 
joined by a tributary, the Ab-i-Siah, coming from 

^ " Northern Afghanistan. " Major C. E. Yate. 

155 



AFGHANISTAN 

the southern slopes of the Haji Khak Pass. In the 
summer this upper portion of the Helmund is a 
favourite resort of the pastoral tribes of the Eastern 
area. Thence it passes through a deep valley, hug- 
ging the south side of the Koh-i-Baba for 35 miles 
to Ghaoch Khol, its banks fringed with rose-bushes 
and osiers. At this point it is crossed by a bridge, 
unites with a rivulet from the north and with 
the Ab-Dilawar from the south-west. From this to 
Diwal Khol, about 25 miles farther, it pursues the 
same westerly direction which it has had from its 
source. A few miles beyond this point the stream 
gives a bold sweep to the south for 80 miles, as far 
as Chakmakchak. Here it is crossed by the road 
going west towards Herat and receives a consider- 
able feeder from the north. The river then turns 
slightly to the south-west and keeps this direction 
for about 120 miles as far as Sakhir, where roads 
from Bamian, Maidan, and Girishk meet. From 
Sakhir to Girishk, a distance of perhaps 150 miles, 
its course is more south, and 25 miles below Sakhir 
it is joined from the east by the Tezin stream. 
At Garmab, 50 miles below this again, it is met 
by the Khudrud, where it is crossed 60 miles above 
Girishk. At this point the banks of the Helmund 
are 1000 yards apart; the right bank low and sandy 
and the left bank high and rocky. Sometimes when 
the volume of the river has diminished the breadth 
of the Helmund at Girishk itself is reduced to 
300 yards; the stream flowing smoothly with a 
mean depth at the ford of 3 feet. In mid- 
156 



KANDAHAR 

June, again, it is barely passable by infantry; but 
3 miles up stream, where the river divides into 
three branches and the southern Herat-Kandahar 
road crosses, there is a ferry, in addition to several 
good fords. Here the depth is less than 4 feet 
and the breadth across each arm varies between 
70 and 150 yards. About 45 miles below Girishk 
and just below Kala-i-Bist is an island formed by 
the river. It is joined on the left by its great trib- 
utary the Argand-ab, from which point its width 
varies between 300 and 400 yards, with an average 
depth of IJ to 2 fathoms. Thence to Benadar 
Kalan, a distance of 70 miles, its direction is south 
and from this it turns west for 120 miles. At Pula- 
lak, 100 miles distant, it is usually 400 yards wide, 
very deep and flowing in a broad stretch of water 
as far as Traku. Here, its progress arrested by 
some sand-hills, it takes a sudden turn to the north- 
west and runs for 45 miles in that direction; finally 
it divides into the three branches, Rod-i-Seistan, 
Rod-i-Purian, and the Nad Ali. Since 1895 the 
Rod-i-Purian has been the main channel, displacing 
the Nad Ali course. The river, even in the dry 
season, is never without a plentiful supply of water. 
The fort of Girishk stands on the right bank 
of the Helmund about IJ miles from the stream 
upon the high road between Kandahar and Herat. 
Its position seems to have been determined by the 
neighbourhood of the fords across the Helmund; also 
by the vicinity of the ferry, which, when the river 
is not fordable, is usually established at a narrow 

157 



AFGHANISTAN 

part of the stream below the fort. From the far side 
of the river, Girishk appears to have more strength 
and to be in better order than inspection proves 
to be the case. Upon two sides and part of the 
third there is a ditch, which contains water but 
is formidable neither in width nor in depth. On 
the north and north-eastern aspects, where the wall 
is situated upon the high bank of the river, it is not 
continued. 

Girishk, as also Farah, comes within the jurisdic- 
tion of the officials of Kandahar Province and a 
small garrison is detailed from Kandahar itself. Two 
squadrons of cavalry and one battery of field guns 
usually comprise the regular establishment, to which 
is added a certain militia strength. The soldiers 
camp outside the walls; the fort itself, which is only 
700 feet in length and 250 feet in breadth, being 
the residence of the Governor of Pusht-i-Rud, the 
name by which the district goes. In no sense can 
the building be regarded as possessing any military 
value. The walls are weak and exposed from their 
parapet to their foundations. Moreover, there is 
cover close up to them on all sides except the north- 
ern where a ravine, which would afford an enemy 
protection, is enfiladed from the north-west tower. 
The setting of the fort is quite picturesque. In the 
low-river lands on the south side there are charm- 
ing gardens, but their walls and trees are too likely 
to afford cover to troops to be other than a danger. 
In the fort itself are two gateways; one of which, a 
small one, has been blocked up. The main one is 

158 



KANDAHAR 

at the southern extremity. There are four corner 
towers and the water-supply is rehable and drawn 
from the river. But, equally with Farah and Sab- 
zawar, the fortifications of Girishk need not be the 
subject of any detailed consideration here. Stand- 
ing on the main route from Herat to Kandahar, 
controlling the fords across the Helmund and com- 
manding the road to Seistan from which it is only 
190 miles distant, the richness of the surrounding 
region makes its early possession essential to any 
force operating from the Indo-Afghan border. Vil- 
lages are numerous and every one is a thriving centre. 
The pasturage is both fattening and abundant, 
while the agricultural capacity of the Zamindawar 
lands is well known. During the last operations 
in Afghanistan 4,000,000 lbs. weight of grain were 
collected from the Girishk district by the British 
force that was then in occupation, a return which 
makes it the most important of any of the bases 
which might be established on the Perso-Afghan 
border. 

Kandahar, which is 125 miles from Quetta and 
only 65 miles from the railhead at New Chaman, 
is the last place where an army advancing from 
Herat towards the Indus would halt. It also affords 
access to the Ghazni and Kabul roads through the 
Tarnak Valley, and its proximity to the deserts of 
Beloochistan on the south renders at least one of its 
flanks safe from being turned. It is very accessible 
from Persia in the west and from India in the east, 
while it has changed hands so frequently during the 

159 



AFGHANISTAN 

period of its history — Persians, Usbegs, Afghans, 
and in recent times the EngHsh — that a further 
change is certainly to be anticipated. Kandahar is 
situated between the Argand and Tarnak Rivers on 
a level plain covered with cultivation and well pop- 
ulated to the south and west; on the north-west a 
low ridge rises to the height of 1000 feet. The shape 
of the city is an irregular parallelogram, the length 
being from north to south with a circuit of 3 miles, 
1006 yards. It is surrounded by a ditch, 24 feet 
wide and 10 feet deep, and by a wall which is 20j 
feet thick at the bottom, 14| feet thick at the top, 
and 27 feet in height. This wall is made of mud 
hardened by exposure to the sun and without revet- 
ment of stone or brick. The length of the western 
face is 1967 yards, of the eastern 1810 yards, of the 
southern 1345 yards, and of the northern 1164 yards. 
There are four main gates, through which run the 
principal streets and two minor gates. The Bar 
Durani and Kabul are on the eastern face, the Shi- 
karpur on the southern face, the Herat and the Top 
Khana on the western face, and the Idgah on the 
northern face. The Bar Durani and the Top Khana 
are the minor gates. 

The gateways are defended by six double bastions 
and the angles are protected by four large circular 
towers. The curtains between the bastions have 
fifty-four small bastions distributed along the faces. 
From the Herat gate a street runs to the Kabul 
gate through the city; commencing from the Shi- 
karpur gate and crossing it at right angles near the 

160 



KANDAHAR 

centre, another leads to the citadel, which is square- 
built with walls 260 yards in length. 

The citadel is situated to the north of the city and 
south of it is the Top Khana. West of this is the 
tomb of Ahmed Shah Durani, an octagonal struc- 
ture, overlaid with coloured porcelain bricks and 
surmounted by a gilded dome, surrounded by small 
minarets. It towers above all the adjacent build- 
ings and its dome attracts attention to the city from 
a distance. The pavement of the tomb is carpeted 
and an embroidered cloak is thrown over the sar- 
cophagus. The sepulchre itself, composed of a 
coarse stone from the mountains near Kandahar, 
is inlaid with wreaths of flowers in coloured marble. 
Twelve lesser tombs, which are those of the children 
of Ahmed Shah, are ranged near the resting-place 
of the father. The interior walls are painted in 
designs similar to those which adorn the exteriot, 
but the execution is more regular and the colours, 
having been less exposed, are fresher and more bril- 
liant. The lofty dome above the centre imparts an 
air of grandeur to the little temple, while its windows 
of stone trellis work admit a subdued and pleasant 
light. The tomb is engraved with passages from the 
Koran and a copy of the sacred volume, from which 
the Mullahs recite passages, is kept in the sanctuary. 

At the point where the streets from Herat gate 
and the Shikarpur gate meet, is the Charsu, a large 
dome 50 yards in diameter. Here, as in other parts 
of the city, are public "humams" or warm baths, 
where a course of Asiatic massage, including bath- 

161 



AFGHANISTAN 

ing, peeling, kneading, and drying, costs one rupee. 
The Afghan mode of treatment differs but Httle 
from that prevailing in India. The houses gener- 
ally are built of sun-dried bricks, with flat roofs. 
A few only possess upper storeys. The houses of 
the rich are enclosed by high walls and contain 
three or four courts with gardens and fountains. 
Each of these divisions holds a single building, sep- 
arated into small compartments and provided with 
three or four large and lofty halls. The roofs are 
supported upon wooden pillars, carved and painted. 
The various suites open upon the several halls, 
which are embellished with mural paintings and 
numerous looking-glasses. The walls of the rooms 
are usually furnished with panels of glittering stucco, 
a compound of mica and talc, decorated with pat- 
terns of flowers. Their surfaces are broken by many 
recesses, sometimes the refuge of very tawdry orna- 
ments. The ceilings are formed of small pieces of 
wood, carved, fitted into each other, and varnished. 
The houses of the poorer classes are represented by 
single rooms 20 feet by 12 feet. 

The four principal streets are each 40 yards wide, 
bordered with trees, flanked by shops and houses 
with open fronts and shady verandahs. Each street 
is named after the gate to which it leads from the 
Charsu, except in the case of the one which runs 
into the Top Khana. This street, which is very nar- 
row both at its north and south entrances and has 
the Nikara Khana on its west, is called the Shahi 
Bazaar. Smaller and narrower streets, each cross- 

162 



KANDAHAR 

ing the other at right angles, run from the principal 
thoroughfares towards the city walls, between which 
and the houses there is a road about 25 yards wide 
encircling the city. A second road, similar in design, 
exists on the outside of the wall along the western 
and southern faces as a relic of the British occupa- 
tion. It has been planted with trees by the Afghan 
authorities, a similar adornment having been applied 
to the main Kokeran road. 

Kandahar is divided into districts which are in 
the occupation of the different tribes. The south- 
western quarter of the city has four great divisions 
— the Barakzai Duranis, extending down the Shik- 
arpur and Herat Bazaars, having south of them the 
Hindustani quarter and west that of the Halakozai 
Duranis, while in the extreme south-west corner of 
the city, between the last two, there are the Nurzai 
Duranis. The south-eastern quarter appears to be 
occupied principally by Populzai Duranis. In the 
north-eastern quarter the portion stretching on the 
north of the Kabul Bazaar is occupied by the Ghil- 
zais; north of them and to the north-east angle of 
the city is the Bar Durani quarter; while between 
them and the citadel is the Achakzai Durani quar- 
ter. In the south-western portion of the north- 
western quarter are the houses of the Alizais. 
These divisions, relating to the principal tribes who 
frequent the city, concern the Duranis, Ghilzais, 
Parsiwans, and Kakuris. 

The numerical strength of the larger Afghan cities 
has always fluctuated, the element of movement, 

163 



AFGHANISTAN 

as the population increases and diminishes, depend- 
ing upon whether the local government were pro- 
tective or oppressive. When Kandahar was visited 
by Elphinstone, he calculated its population at 
100,000. Hough reported it at 80,000, Masson from 
25,000 to 30,000, Terrier 30,000, Court 25,000, and 
Bellew 15,500. Holdich, writing in 1880, put the 
strength of the Duranis, Ghilzais, Parsiwans, and 
Kakuris alone at 30,000. In recent years Kandahar 
has prospered. As there has been but little to dis- 
turb the development of its trade and the general 
settlement of the immediate vicinity, it is possible 
that it may have reached the present high figure. 

As in most Asiatic cities the different trades occupy 
special parts of the Kandahar bazaars. In all there 
are 3700 shops in addition to the stalls of the way- 
side pedlars. These, their goods spread upon the 
ground or displayed upon small tables, not infre- 
quently act as agents of the more important mer- 
chants. There are, too, certain street musicians and 
strolling players. The premises of the cloth mer- 
chants extend down the east side of the Shikarpur 
Bazaar; and facing them are the saddlers and the 
smiths. From the Charsu towards the Kabul gate, 
to the north of the Kabul Bazaar, are the Hindoo 
bankers. In the opposite direction, on the north 
of the Herat Bazaar, are the coppersmiths; and con- 
fronting them are the tailors and the shoemakers. 
At the north end of the Shahi Bazaar is the grass 
market, and next to it, on the north-east, the cattle 
market. The Shikarpur Bazaar is the popular and 

164 



KANDAHAR 

central meeting-place; but each of the four principal 
streets of Kandahar is thronged between sunrise and 
sunset. Almost without cessation is the movement 
of the mass of people: some riding, many walking, 
others proceeding to and from the markets leading 
camels, driving ponies, or themselves carrying loads. 
Women are rarely seen; but from beyond the Indian 
border or from out of the heart of Afghanistan 
there are traders, travellers, and fakirs. Arrayed 
in various colours, though all assume the Afghan 
dress, they are only distinguished from each other 
by the forms of their head-dress. Their beards are 
black and bushy; but where age has made its appear- 
ance the white hairs are dyed red with the juice of 
the henna. A few are shaven and habited in jackets 
and trousers of blue linen or tunics of drab cloth 
with pendant sleeves, their heads being protected by 
cotton skull-caps. This latter type belongs usually 
to some trans-border region. Others wear cloaks 
made up in chintz or in the woollen cloth of the 
country, with turbans of very ample fold. The con- 
stant bustle of the streets produces considerable con- 
fusion around the stalls, while the shouts of the 
caravan leaders and the sickly whining of the street 
beggars add to the uproar. Mendicity is to be seen 
in its most loathsome and repulsive forms. The 
blind, the maimed, and deformed, ragged and un- 
speakably squalid men, women, and children not 
only stand and sit, but lie grovelling in the dust or 
mire under the feet of the crowd. 

The Hindoos are the most numerous as well as 

165 



AFGHANISTAN 

the wealthiest merchants in the city. They carry 
on a very profitable trade with Bombay, via Shikar- 
pur and Karachi. They import silks, calicoes, mus- 
lins, chintzes, merinoes, woollen and broad cloths, 
leather, iron, copper, knives, scissors, needles, thread, 
and paper from England; indigo, spices, sugar, 
medicines, salt from India; shawls, postins, shoes, 
opium, silks, and carpets from Meshed. Kandahar 
exports to India and the Persian Gulf madder, assa- 
foetida, goat's-hair, camel's-wool, preserved fruits, 
quince seeds, pomegranate rinds, tobacco, felts, raw 
silk, rosaries; horses, baggage ponies, Biran carpets, 
copper utensils, and silk are contributed by Persia. 
The trade between Kandahar, Herat, and Meshed 
is conducted principally by Persians, who bring down 
silk, raw and manufactured, copper utensils, guns, 
daggers, swords, precious stones (turquoise), bro- 
cade, gold and silver braiding, horses and carpets; 
they take back wool, felts, postins, and skins. 

Kandahar city is by far the most important trade 
centre in Afghanistan, the customs and town dues 
together equalling the land revenues of the province. 
These several sources of income, of course, go some 
way towards meeting the expenses of the Central 
Government. There are few manufactures or indus- 
tries of importance that are peculiar to the city; 
the principal trade of a local description is the pro- 
duction of silk, felt, and rosaries of soft crystallised 
silicate of magnesia, which is found near the city. 
The description of these trades will be found in a 
further chapter. 

166 



KANDAHAR 

Certain articles have been withdrawn from expor- 
tation by order of the Governor of Kandahar, but 
before this occurred the following taxes were levied: 
on wheat, barley, atta, and rice eight annas per don- 
key-load or one rupee per camel-load; ghee, 5 rupees 
per maund; oil was mulcted in a sixth part. The 
kidney-fat of every sheep or goat slaughtered is a 
Government perquisite and is sent to the Amir's 
soap manufactory, where it is made after the most 
economical principles into a coarse description of 
soap. Each shop pays a tax of one and a half 
Kandahari rupees 'per mensem. Saids, mullahs, and 
a few others are exempted. 

The returns from taxes assessed on the various 
crafts give: 

RS. PER ANNUM RS. PER ANNUM 

Dyers 1500 Silk-weavers 3500 

Tanners 4000 Gram-dealers 1250 

Cap and postin-makers . . . 600 Capitation tax 3000 

Butchers 700 Cattle markets 2500 

Gaming houses 2500 

while bakers have to present annually to the Governor 
thirty Kandahari maunds of bread. 

The Saids of Peshin, Kakuris, Bakhtiaris, and the 
Beloochis are the tribes principally engaged in horse 
dealing. This trade flourishes for six months in the 
year; but it is stagnant during the hot weather and 
in the winter, when the roads are closed by snow. 
About 2000 or 3000 horses are said to pass through 
the city annually. The chief breeding districts 
drawn on by these traders are Sarakhs, Maimana, 
Nur, and Kala Nau in the Hazara country; Daria 

167 



AFGHANISTAN 

Gaz and Kelati-i-Nadiri in Persia; Gulza and Firoz- 
koh in Herat Province. Of these the horses from 
Sarakhs, Nur, and Gulza are most prized, reahsing 
locally between 60 and 120 rupees. An export duty 
between 15 to 30 rupees was originally levied against 
each animal. To escape this tax traders frequently 
took the desert routes, but the trade is now pro- 
hibited. The cows of Kandahar and Seistan are in 
general request; they are said to give twenty seers 
of milk each per diem, being milked three times in 
twenty -four hours. They fetch about 40 rupees 
each. Camels are anything but plentiful in the Kan- 
dahar district; and the supply is scarcely adequate 
to meet the demands of the trading population. 
Many are imported from Beloochistan, the prices 
varying from 20 to 100 rupees. 

The Saids of Peshin and others formerly conducted 
a more or less profitable traffic in slaves in Western 
Afghanistan, some four or five hundred being sold 
annually in Kandahar. A few of these unfortunates 
were purchased in Seistan, but most of them were 
kidnapped from elsewhere. Slavery in Afghanistan, 
however, was abolished by Abdur Rahman in 1895, 
the Russian and India Governments mutually co- 
operating in its prevention. Very few slaves were 
Persian born, the several regions of Afghanistan 
supplying their own superfluous human beings. 
Hazara furnished a large quota, frequently in lieu 
of arrears of revenue or when there was difficulty 
in realising Government assignments against the 
different villages. The value of slaves fluctuated 

168 



KANDAHAR 

according to the price of food; during seasons of 
abundance high prices were obtained, but in any 
period of scarcity slaves were a drug in the market. 

The cHmate of Kandahar is charming in the winter, 
but the spring is considered the most pleasant time. 
Barren parched hills lie close to the city on the north 
and west; the heat radiating from them is such that 
the winds are hot and parching. The temperature 
of the thermometer varies greatly between morning 
and the middle of the day — sometimes as much as 
40 or 50 degrees. 

In winter, composed of the months of Decem- 
ber, January, and February, the weather is cloudy, 
with storms, snow, sleet, and rain. The wind varies 
between all the points of the compass, seldom for 
long blowing from one direction. Frosts are severe. 

In spring, made up of the months of March, April, 
and May, the weather is fair but cloudy. Occa- 
sional rain falls; and there are thunder-storms dur- 
ing the iSrst half of the season, in which also the 
nights are cold and very frosty. In the latter half 
of this quarter the weather becomes warmer, dews 
fall at night, and dust-storms occur infrequently. 
The wind is westerly and south-westerly, but high 
easterly winds prevail in March. 

During the months of June, July, August, and part 
of September the hot season obtains, commencing 
about June 20 and continuing until September 20. 
It comprises two periods of forty days each, sep- 
arated by an intervening fortnight of cloudy and 
cooler weather, during which thunder-storms occur 

169 



AFGHANISTAN 

in the mountains, though rain rarely falls on the 
plain. The most prevalent wind during the sum- 
mer blows from the west during the day, but during 
the night and until the sun has been "up" a couple 
of hours it emanates from the opposite direction. 
Dust-storms are frequent and severe. 

The wind, during the autumn in the evening and 
in the early morning, blows in warm unrefreshing 
gusts, heated by passing over the many bare rocky 
ranges which serve simply to reflect the sun. Dur- 
ing these months, part of September, October, and 
November, the sun is still powerful. Occasional 
dust-storms occur, and there is cloudy weather to- 
wards the close of the season. The dews are heavy; 
little rain falls and high north-easterly and north- 
westerly winds prevail at the close of the season. 

Of diseases that may be attributed to the Kanda- 
har climate, the most prominent are intermittent 
and remittent fevers, whilst continued fevers and 
small-pox, although met with only in a sporadic 
form, are epidemic in certain seasons. The first- 
named maladies are prevalent throughout the year; 
although more active in the spring and autumn 
when they are remarkable for the frequency of the 
tertian form. 

Ophthalmic complaints are numerous, although 
not altogether attributable to the climate. Rheu- 
matism, neuralgic affections, scrofula, syphilis, and 
certain cerebral disturbances are common. 



170 



CHAPTER XII 



SEISTAN 



WESTWARDS of the Kandahar district 
is the region of Seistan, to which unu- 
sual political interest attaches. Roughly 
speaking, it is divided between Persia and Afghani- 
stan, the Helmund River demarcating the mutual 
spheres of interest and occupation. Geographically, 
it belongs to the watershed of Afghanistan. Its 
extensive areas, situated along the borders of Af- 
ghanistan, Persia, and Beloochistan, are drained by 
the Hamun Lake, which also receives the waters 
of the Helmund, Farah, Khash, and Harud Rivers. 
The area of this depression, which is broken up into 
three subsidiary basins — those of the Farah, the 
Helmund, and the Zirreh — is 125,000 square miles. 
The first of these consists of the two-fold lagoon 
formed by the Harud and Farah Rivers flowing from 
the north, and by the Helmund and the Khash or 
Kushk Rud flowing from the south and east respec- 
tively. These are connected by a thick reed-bed 
called the Naizar, which, according to the amount 
of water that the lakes contain, is either a marsh 
or a cane-brake. In flood-time these waters, ordi- 
narily distinct, unite to pour over the Naizar into 

171 



AFGHANISTAN 

the second great depression, known by the generic 
title of Haniun Lake. In times of abnormal flood the 
Hamun will itself overflow. On such occasions the 
water, draining southwards through the Sarshela 
ravine, inundates the third depression, which is 
known as the Gaud-i-Zirreh. The Hamun Lake, like 
the Gaud-i-Zirreh, is one of those seasonable phe- 
nomena which are invariably met in regions where the 
water system is irregular. At certain periods quite 
dry, at others it possesses a measurement of 100 
miles in length, 15 miles in breadth, with a mean 
depth of 4 feet and a maximum of 10 feet. The 
waters of the Hamun are sweet. Fish are very plenti- 
ful, providing food for an aboriginal colony which 
frequents the lake. It is, also, the haunt of many 
varieties of wild geese, duck, and other water-fowl. 

It is better, before proceeding to study further the 
value of Seistan, to describe exactly of what Seis- 
tan consists. Sir Frederic Goldsmid, for purposes of 
more accurate definition of the region, divided its 
areas into two parts: Seistan Proper and Outer Seis- 
tan. In this he may be said to have given Seistan 
Proper to Persia and Outer Seistan to Afghanistan. 
The former lies between the Naizar on the north 
and the main lateral canal, which waters the lands 
around Sekuha and the neighbouring villages on the 
south. It extends along the old bed of the Helmund, 
from a mile above the dam at Kohak, to its mouth 
on the east, and to the fringe of the Hamun and the 
Kuh-i-Khwajah on the west. The population num- 
bers 45,000, of whom 10,000 were nomads of mixed 

172 



SEISTAN 

descent. Of the larger total, 20,000 are returned as 
Seistanis and 15,000 as Persian-speaking settlers, the 
average number of persons to the square mile being 
roughly 15 — figures which are eight times in ex- 
cess of the proportional result found elsewhere in 
Persia. Outer Seistan comprises the country stretch- 
ing along the right bank of the Helmund, from its 
lake mouth on the north to Rudbar in the south. 
The inhabitants are Seistanis, Beloochi nomads, and 
Afghans, together with a certain proportion of San- 
juranis and Joktis — the term Seistani applying par- 
ticularly to that portion of the inhabitants possessing 
permanent settlements, irrespective of descent and 
nationality. The combined areas of the Seistan ba- 
sin aggregate some 7006 square miles and the joint 
population is returned at 205,000, or 34 to the 
square mile. 

It is the Helmund River, the chief tributary to the 
Hamun, that has been the greatest obstacle to the 
successful demarcation of the Seistan region. Hith- 
erto the boundary defining the respective limits of 
the two States has been the one arranged in 1872 by 
the Goldsmid Award. Under that instrument a line 
was drawn from Siah-koh to where the then main bed 
of the Helmund River entered the Naizar swamp. 
The frontier then proceeded to Kohak. From this 
point it followed a south-westerly direction to Koh- 
i-Malik-i-Siah, thus leaving the two banks of the 
Helmund below Kohak to Afghanistan. Since then 
the Helmund has changed its course, and in that 
portion of the frontier which was affected by the 
' 173 



AFGHANISTAN 

vagaries of the stream, considerable confusion arose, 
while local Perso-Afghan relations became very much 
inflamed. The question as between the two races 
depended upon the future division of the new bed of 
the Helmund, the point of dispute dealing specifi- 
cally with the divergence of the main stream from 
the channel which was selected as the frontier line 
by the Mission of 1872. The Afghans, who were 
the principal gainers by the alteration of the course 
of the river, claimed that the new bed formed the 
frontier: the Persians, on the other hand, endeav- 
oured to maintain the strict interpretation of the 
old agreement. 

Unfortunately Seistan possessed interest for others 
than those who were dependent upon the course of 
the Helmund, and Russia had already secured the 
Shah's assent to the appointment of a Russian con- 
sul at Nasratabad. As soon as the dispute promised 
local unpleasantness between Persia and Afghani- 
stan and political difficulties for Great Britain with 
Teheran, this individual, M. Miller, interfered. Ex- 
claiming against the presumption of the Afghans, 
he offered to provide a force to resist their so-called 
aggression. Before matters had reached the crisis 
which would have made Russian interference possi- 
ble, the Shah, in accordance with the terms of the 
Treaty of Paris, requested the British Government 
to arbitrate on the question of the Helmund waters 
and, at the same time, to establish a permanent 
boundary line in place of the vague provisions made 
by the Goldsmid Mission. 

174 



SEISTAN 

In agreeable accord with this request the Imperial 
Government at the end of 1902 appointed as British 
Commissioner, Major McMahon, who had already 
demarcated the whole of the southern boundary of 
Afghanistan — a distance of 800 miles. It so hap- 
pened that his new duties commenced at Koh-i- 
Malik-i-Siah, the point at which his former work 
finished. The mission consisted of 11 British. oflB- 
cers, numerous survey and irrigation experts, an 
escort of 200 native infantry, 60 cavalry, with a 
large supply of transport, including the 58th Camel 
Corps — in all a total of 1500 men, 200 horses, and 
2200xamels. As the base was at Quetta, 500 miles 
across an almost waterless desert, whence all stores 
except grain and fodder and a few local commodi- 
ties had to be imported, the task of feeding the mis- 
sions can be well appreciated. Starting from Quetta, 
the mission proceeded through Afghan territory to 
Khwaja-ali on the Helmund and then followed the 
river, with the object of commencing work in the 
middle of the boundary. This march of 500 miles 
over uninhabited waterless country occupied five 
weeks. The temperature was very low, with the 
thermometer at four degrees above zero; and fright- 
ful blizzards were encountered. During this period 
three men were frozen to death and a number of ani- 
mals lost. On reaching Seistan, Colonel McMahon 
was met by the Afghan Commissioner and by two 
Persian Commissioners, each with a large escort. 
The Amir, who was known personally to the British 
Commissioner, kindly despatched from Kandahar for 

175 



AFGHANISTAN 

his private protection a force of 100 cavalry and 200 
infantry. 

Political difficulties for the mission commenced at 
the very outset. Attempting to cross into Persian 
Seistan it was refused admission by the Persians, who 
had been thoroughly frightened by Russian misrep- 
resentation as to its object. The cool assertion was 
made that no boundary was in dispute, and that any 
attempt to pass into Persian territory would be met 
by force. For a whole month the mission contented 
itself with travelling along the Afghan side of the 
Helmund, collecting information in regard to the 
frontier line. Throughout this time there was] no 
meeting with the Persian officials. Further work 
at last necessitated an entry into Persian territory. 
Notwithstanding Persia's protests and her objection 
to the erection of a bridge for the purpose of crossing 
the Helmund, the mission crossed, receiving the cus- 
tomary compliments and being welcomed with bands 
and guards of honour. 

The actual work of demarcation was very diffi- 
cult. South of the Helmund for 90 miles the line 
lay through an arid desert where water was brought 
from long distances. North of this section the 
boundary traversed country liable to inundation in 
which pillars of a massive permanent nature had 
to be erected, while the last 20 miles of the frontier 
ran up the waterless, glacial slopes of the Siah-koh. 
By the decision agreed upon, the old bed of the Hel- 
mund was retained as the new frontier, the present 
boundary being so fixed that it continues irrespective 

176 



SEISTAN 

of further changes in the course of the river. This 
arrangement reconstitutes the 1872 Hue. Consider- 
able delay marked its acceptance both in Kabul and 
Teheran, the findings being delivered in April, 1904. 
Demarcation work, proceeding in accordance with 
McMahon's report, was not completed until the close 
of 1904, by which time Persian objections to the 
decision upon the boundary had been overcome, the 
first part of the work of the mission being settled 
absolutely when the final adhesion of the two Gov- 
ernments to the verdict of the mission was notified 
in September, 1904. The appropriation of the Hel- 
mund waters between Persia and Afghanistan was 
the second part of the business of the mission. The 
diflSculties of the question were increased by Russian 
exertions to thwart a satisfactory solution. Never- 
theless, after most scrupulous pains and exhaustive 
inquiries into existing rights and practice, the Com- 
missioners* award upon partition of the waters was 
handed, in May, 1905, to the Persian and Afghan 
representatives for communication to their respec- 
tive Governments. The Amir of Afghanistan at once 
accepted the judgment of Colonel McMahon while 
the people on the spot also warmly espoused the set- 
tlement. But Persia, inspired by the laboured con- 
coctions of the Russian officials in Teheran, refused 
to ratify the protocol and, after great delay, con- 
firmed her dissatisfaction at the distribution of the 
waters by direct representations to the British Min- 
ister at Teheran. Unhappily on February 26, 1906, 
in spite of previous official intimations from the 

177 



AFGHANISTAN 

Foreign OflSce that Persia had acquiesced in the 
results of the mission, thei Shah's Government for- 
mally notified Sir Edward Grey of its inability to 
accept and consequent rejection of the decision in 
respect of the McMahon division of the waters of 
the Helmund. In a similar manner, Persia appealed 
against the decision of the Goldsmid Mission with 
the result that its original terms were confirmed. 
No genuine objection exists in this instance. 

The trials of the mission in Seistan were of a dis- 
tinctly unpleasant order. During the winter 1904- 
1905 the jackals, with which the district abounds, 
for some unknown cause went mad, attacking men 
and animals. Four members of the mission were bit- 
ten, one of whom died of hydrophobia. The disease 
also spread to the wolves, who played great havoc. 
One wild night, March 25, 1905, during a blizzard 
blowing at a velocity of 88 miles an hour, two mad 
wolves raided the lines of the Camel Corps and wor- 
ried seventy-eight camels and one horse. Forty-eight 
of the camels and the horse died of hydrophobia. 
On another occasion a horde of these creatures tried 
unsuccessfully to rush the main camp. The Seistanis 
themselves were so overcome by terror that they 
actually killed off all but a few of their dogs on whom 
they depend for safety and security at night. 

One of the most tragic experiences was the death 
of an Indian surveyor while on duty in the water- 
less Dasht-i-Margo. He ventured too far from water 
and, owing to the intense heat, was unable either to 
move forward or to retrace his steps. He and seven 

178 



SEISTAN 

of his followers paid the penalty with their lives. 
This incident was marked by the heroism of one of 
his men who, seeing the surveyor die, determined to 
rescue the map, to secure which so many lives had 
been given. He cut it off from the board of the 
plane table, and, knowing that he could not long 
retain consciousness, wound it under his waistcloth 
round his body. Then he blindly started northward 
in the hope of reaching water. The four men who 
commenced this journey with him collapsed, he 
himself remembers no more than regaining conscious- 
ness at night-time lying by a pool in the Krash 
River. Here he was found by a wandering Afghan, 
who carried him on his back to a native village 
where, after receiving careful attention, his life was 
saved. The bodies of his unfortunate companions 
were subsequently discovered in a completely mum- 
mified condition. 

Seistan resembles other parts of Central Asia and 
almost every centre of importance in Afghanistan, 
insomuch that its existence depends upon irrigation. 
The canals which branch off from the Helmund, 
bearing the waters of that river throughout the heart 
of the country, date back to a period which itself 
is long prior to either Persian or Afghan conquest. 
The systems in vogiie to-day are hardly an improve- 
ment upon those earlier waterworks; there is no 
doubt that the region might be made the centre of an 
exceptionally fertile oasis if there were any enduring 
qualities in the local government, security for trade, 
or opening for agricultural activity. Life in Seistan 

179 



AFGHANISTAN 

does not entail elaborate preparations. Provisions 
are cheap; and sheep and oxen are abundant. Rice 
comes from Herat, vegetables are scarce, while wheat 
and barley may be purchased in large quantities. 

The feature of Seistan is the Helmund. Indeed, 
this region is as dependent upon the Helmund as 
Egypt is upon the Nile, and in recent years agricul- 
tural conditions have much improved. The gross 
revenue is now 100,000 kharwars of grain, with an 
additional 7100 tomans as the value of other prod- 
ucts. Of this latter return the Amir of Seistan 
takes one-fifth, 1420 tomans; with levies upon for- 
age and firewood from each village and the proceeds 
from the sales of permits to collect taxes on cows and 
sheep, the cash revenue amounts to 14,095 tomans. 
The tax on cows is 2 J krans per 100 cows, and the 
impost on sheep 1 kran for 20 sheep. There is no 
levy on ploughing bullocks. Of the 100,000 khar- 
wars of grain the Amir receives 30,000 kharwars at 
the value of 5 tomans per kharwar. The net receipts 
are, therefore, 164,095, of which the Persian Govern- 
ment require 2600 tomans in cash and 24,012 khar- 
wars in grain, of which 9812 kharwars are remitted in 
allowances to officials, priests, and troops. In place 
of the payment in grain, too, the Persian Govern- 
ment usually accepts a cash equivalent at the rate 
of 7 krans per kharwar, 9940 tomans, the aggregate 
cash payment contributed by Seistan to Teheran 
amounting to 12,540 tomans, or £2500. 

The capital of Seistan is divided into two sections 
— northern and southern; although so long the cen- 

180 



SEISTAN 

tre of local government, it reflects at first a some- 
what cheerless and dilapidated appearance. The 
absence of roads about the city and the generally- 
neglected condition of Husseinabad, the southern 
town, set up a feeling of disappointment in those who 
see the place for the first time. Beyond these two 
towns have sprung up in the last few years the neat 
buildings of the British Consulate, which may be 
said to constitute a third part of the capital, with 
Captain Macpherson in charge of Anglo-Indian 
interests. Separated from the rest of the city by a 
broad stretch of level ground, some acres in extent, it 
occupies an admirable site and has the advantage of 
room for extension, should it, at any time, be thought 
advisable to embark upon enlargement. Between 
two rows of buildings is a wide space, more nearly a 
square than a street, at the end of which the Union 
Jack flies. Behind the main block on the south side 
of the square is a mosque. The principal premises 
cover a space of about 150 yards by 70 yards, the 
whole site consisting roughly of about 13 acres. 
Alongside the consulate stand the imposing premises 
of the British bank, a branch of the Imperial Bank 
of Persia, comprising several excellent houses and a 
well-kept garden. 

Husseinabad is little more than a collection 
of small-domed mud-houses, built, irrespective of 
ground plan, wheresoever fancy dictated and placed 
in the middle of a vast plain. Here and there a 
wind-mill of curious shape — usually stationary in 
the winter months, but wanting only the fierce blasts 

181 



AFGHANISTAN 

of the Bad-i-sad-o-bist roz or wind of 120 days, which 
blows unceasingly in the summer months, to rouse it 
to a state of wild activity — stands conspicuously 
among the surrounding houses. Beyond this the 
residences of the Russian Consul and the Chief 
Mullah are the only other objects likely to attract 
attention. The former, no longer the largest house 
in the town, is also badly situated, being enclosed on 
three sides by houses and on the fourth by a grave- 
yard, which stretches from the Consulate to the walls 
of Nasratabad. The Russian Consulate itself, a rect- 
angular building enclosing two courtyards opening 
into one another, has been, in reality, converted from 
native houses. It rejoices in an upper storey; a 
cluster of domes — each room possessing a separate 
dome — forms the roof, above which stands a sorry- 
looking flag-staff. 

Nasratabad, the northern town, though in itself 
insignificant, is by far the more imposing half. It is 
surrounded by walls 30 feet in height, about 350 
yards in length from north to south and 400 yards 
from east to west, with buttresses at intervals of 
about 40 yards. An additional rectangular enclo- 
sure projecting from the north-east corner contains 
the arc or citadel, in which is situated the palace of 
the Amir. In the centre of the southern wall, sup- 
ported on either side by buttresses, stands one of the 
two gateways of the city. From here the central 
street traverses the length of the city, terminating in 
a similar gateway in the centre of the north wall. 
Running all round is a projected way which is loop- 

182 



SEISTAN 

holed; there is also a deep ditch, sometimes filled 
with water. The place possesses from fifty to one 
hundred shops; with one exception they are insig- 
nificant and mainly occupied by soldiers who, during 
their term of service in Seistan, devote themselves 
to trade and are scarcely ever taken away from the 
fort. The open spaces in the city have been culti- 
vated, and little patches of grain may occasionally 
be seen. As is always the case with Persian towns 
donkeys are everywhere to the fore. 

Nasratabad is garrisoned by two Kain regiments, ^ 
one of which is disbanded at home, while the other 
supplies shopkeepers to the capital in the intervals 
of military duties. The nominal strength is 1000, 
but less than 800 men are mobilised. They are 
armed with the useless jezail, although at Birjand 
there is a store of Werndl rifles ; they are supposed to 
receive a new uniform every second year. Service is 
for life and is hereditary in the families supplying the 
soldiers. Their pay is twenty krans — twelve shil- 
lings — and seven and one-half mans of wheat yearly; 
on service in Seistan they are given rations. As 
may be supposed, they do not constitute a formi- 
dable body of fighting men. In addition to the 
infantry there are twenty gunners hailing from 
Tabriz, who hold a position of which they take 
the fullest advantage. They carry on the business 
of money-lenders, charging 500 per cent, as a min- 
imum! 

It has long been recognised in Seistan that, while 

^ "Khurasan and Sistan." Lieutenant-Colonel C. E. Yate. 

183 



AFGHANISTAN 

Indian commerce can achieve no compensating return 
in the markets of Khorassan against the trade of 
Russia and a dam of prohibitory tariffs blocks any 
little trickle from India entering Central Asia, some- 
thing might be gained by concentrating attention 
upon Seistan itself. Accordingly, when in 1896 the 
laying-out of a route between Nushki and Nasrata- 
bad was begun and the construction of a railway 
between Quetta and Nushki was mooted, two impor- 
tant steps in' the right direction were indicated. The 
distance from Quetta to Nasratabad along the route 
which was adopted is 565 miles. The five stages out 
of Quetta down to Nushki, a distance of 93 miles, 
pass through mountainous country. The road de- 
scends 2564 feet from the Quetta plateau to the 
great tableland which stretches away to Seistan at a 
height of 3000 feet. Across it lies the track, fairly 
level and admirably adapted for the passage of cara- 
vans. The hills tower in rough fantastic forms along 
the road to Nushki, and in crossing from valley to 
valley vistas of the mountain scenery of Beloochi- 
stan open out in constant succession. The altitude 
of the country above the sea and the dry bracing 
atmosphere create, in winter, a pleasant feeling of 
exhilaration. The heat in summer is intense, but the 
temperature varies between the extremes of heat and 
cold. 

The hills are the great feature of Quetta. To 
the east, within a mile or two of the bazaar, the Mar- 
dar Range rises to a height of 11,000 feet, forming a 
splendid background to the cantonment. To the 

184 



SEISTAN 

north, west, and south the plain stretches out to the 
foot of the Zarghim, Tuckatoo, and Chiltan Hills. 
Bare and rugged are their slopes, for the juniper 
groves are tucked away in clefts on the hill-sides. 
Chill and forbidding are their summits, save at sun- 
set when they flush scarlet as sin; then deepening 
gradually to purple pale to amethyst as twilight falls. 
As the night darkens, too, the fires of the charcoal- 
burners in the juniper valleys flash out, and the 
lowing of cattle from a distant bazaar reverberates 
in the still air. The atmosphere is very clear and 
distances are most deceptive. Dust-storms are fre- 
quent and the tiny dust-devil may be seen across the 
plain twirling rapidly in the radiant sunlight. Near 
Quetta there are a few mud- walled villages. They 
contain mostly a mixed population, the Beloochis 
proper being nomads and living in black blanket- 
tents. Even of these there are very few except at 
harvest time, when beside every threshing-floor, dot- 
ted amongst the golden mounds of bhusa, are ragged 
shelters. Each tent is composed simply of a couple 
of coarse goat's-hair blankets stretched, one to the 
windward and one overhead, across some forked 
sticks. Inside swarm a mass of men, women, and 
children. The women wear long-sleeved, red cotton 
shirts reaching to the ankles, full cotton trousers and 
chaddas of indigo blue cotton. They do not appear 
to veil themselves among their own people; upon the 
approach of the white man a corner of the chadda is 
caught quickly across the mouth. The chadda falls 
straight down from the crown of the head to the heels 

185 



AFGHANISTAN 

and the frayed, soil-worn tail is left to drag among 
the dust heaps. The long black tresses of the women 
are thickly plaited and ornamented with blue beads 
and white cowries. Sometimes a mass of coins is 
worn like a fringe over the forehead. Their shirts 
are finely worked in green and gold on the hems, at 
the sleeves, neck, skirt, and down the opening at the 
throat with the Russian cross stitch. 

The Beloochi is a wild-looking man with long, 
black, well-oiled locks, which he keeps hanging in 
heavy curls round his neck and shoulders. He wears 
flowing cotton trousers, a cotton shirt, a waistcoat, 
and a variety of coats according to his means. His 
apparel is of the dirtiest and his bare feet are thrust 
into heavy ammunition boots with never a lace in 
them. In spite of certain defects in his attire, he is 
a very dignified-looking man and a born leader — of 
camels! Moreover, he does not set too high value 
upon his women-folk; labour is divided, and in 
ploughing his wife and a camel are usually harnessed 
together. The price of a spouse is calculated in so 
many goats, sheep, donkeys, or camels. 

From Quetta a good driving road runs as far as 
Samungli, 8 miles distant, where there is a small 
caravansary. From this point a kutcha road bears 
off south-west circling round the northern foot of 
Chiltan in the valley of Girdi Tallao, near the middle 
of which is the next halting-place. Here there is a 
caravansary built in the Persian fashion — a square 
courtyard with lean-tos for cattle and camel-men and 
in one corner quarters, consisting of a mud rez-de- 

186 



SEISTAN 

chaussee and a wooden chappar hhaneh, for travellers 
of a better class. 

From Girdi Tallao the road proceeds to Tilleri 
through a cultivated valley, always bordered by 
the bare hills. At Tilleri there is another rest-house 
built on the same pattern, but possessing the luxury 
of windows in the lower storey. After leaving Tilleri 
the road is level for the first few miles as far as the 
Sherinab stream. It then rises gradually for the 
ascent of the Barak Pass, where there is a litter of 
rubble and stones and the ground is very much bro- 
ken. Beyond the pass, in the vicinity of Murad Khan 
Killah, the valley spreads out to a level plain with 
sandy, well-cultivated soil — for Beloochistan. Up 
to this point in this stage there is not a vestige of a 
tree nor yet a camel-thorn bush; even the water is 
brackish. Moreover, signs of agricultural activity do 
not continue. Soon after leaving Murad Khan the 
route lies across stony, uneven ground until the Kish- 
ingi Valley is reached. Here the soil is once more 
sandy; camel-thorn abounds, and in spring there is the 
glow of crimson tulips. Beyond Kishingi the road 
descends into the Nushki plain by a long steep pass. 

It has not been possible for Nushki to avoid the 
prosperity which follows in the train of the caravan. 
At the present moment it is an active but unfortu- 
nate settlement. Built at the foot of the hills which 
bound it on the north and only two or three miles 
from the range separating it from Kishingi, the winds 
from the west, sweeping along the plain to the hills 
and then eddying back again carrying clouds of dust, 

187 



AFGHANISTAN 

catch Nushki both ways. Although very seriously 
exposed and lying on the edge of the desert which 
stretches away westwards to the Helmund, there are 
evidences in the country around of attempts at agri- 
culture. Irrigation is practised and the trickle of 
water from the Kaisar stream has been augmented 
by the careful sinking of wells, until the present 
state of Nushki is in near relation with that which 
seems to have existed many generations ago. On the 
top of a low spur of hills which runs south across the 
valley, where was once a Beloochi fort, now stands 
an ugly mud-coloured, flat-roofed bungalow, the trav- 
ellers' rest-house. The hill on which it is built is 
very stony and absolutely bare, of vegetation. On 
its southern aspect is a pebbly water-course into 
which the water, after running close to the bazaar 
and supplying two cattle-fords, dribbles scantily. 
The water-course is a favourite place for the disposal 
of dead camels and donkeys; while the unwholesome 
little river, the germ-bearer of many maladies, serves 
to turn three rather primitive water-wheels for the 
grinding of wheat and barley. In the clay soil along 
the edges of the stream myriads of tiny mauve irises 
grow during spring, with here and there scarlet and 
yellow tulips. 

The bazaar is somewhat uninteresting, for it has 
been built by a British officer in uncompromisingly 
straight lines. Of course it is all made of mud; the 
roofs are flat and there are no balconies or verandahs 
because wood is scarce. So also there are no white 
Hindoo temples and shady peepul trees, no domed 

188 



SEISTAN 

mosques and stately arched gateways, no strings of 
chillies strung across the shop fronts crimsoning in 
the sun. There is no touch of colour anywhere; 
even the people seem to be clad in dirty white or 
dusty indigo-blue. 

A wide street leads through the centre of the 
bazaar, and upon it are set two rows of one-storey 
mud-shops. Nearly all belong to Hindoo bunnias 
from Shikarpur. Their effects are chiefly sacks of 
grain and Manchester cotton goods, a few native- 
made long overcoats, waistcoats broidered with gold 
or silver thread, and the peaked Afghan kuUah or 
semi-conical cap, worn in the centre of the puggaree. 
At the end of this thoroughfare are the police lines, 
post office, and some attempts at a military canton- 
ment in which tjie local levy is quartered. The pop- 
ulation is liable to fluctuation. Three years ago 
there were 250 people and rather more than 200 
houses, of which 120 were shops; but any estimates 
to-day would need to be much greater, as the num- 
bers of the population have doubled. This increase 
is due primarily to the growing popularity of the 
Nushki-Seistan route and an influx of people who 
were concerned in the construction of the Quetta- 
Nushki Railway. The completion of this work, 
which was opened to traffic on November 15, 1905, 
when a tri-weekly service was initiated, will proba- 
bly cause the abandonment of the present position 
which Nushki occupies. The soil there has been 
infected by epidemics of cholera, and enteric fever 
is endemic among the villagers. 

189 



AFGHANISTAN 

The actual terminus of the line has been placed 
10 miles farther on in the open valley, where there 
is both water and a better situation. There is little 
doubt that ultimately the preference of the caravans 
and the merchants will be given to the spot where 
the station premises are already located. 

Work upon the railway began in the summer of 
1902, when the difficulties which it presented were 
not formidable. The cost of construction has been 
but little more than half a million sterling. The 
line, which is 83 miles in length, branches off from 
the North- Western Railway to Quetta above the 
Bolan Pass, 3 miles from Shezand station and 12 
miles short of Quetta itself, at a height of 5864 feet. 
The stations constructed on the line are very well 
appointed, far better than those upon the Bolan or 
Humai systems. They reflect the greatest credit 
on the engineers. 

In general, Mr. Woodside may be congratulated 
upon the successful termination of his labours. Cer- 
tain features in the construction are novel and create 
a somewhat daring precedent, as bridges have been 
built only over the large streams. Across the smaller 
streams the line runs, so that in heavy storms it may 
be washed away and the service dislocated. The 
experiment may prove troublesome, and it will be 
interesting to see how the system answers ; with small 
traffic it may be a success. For a long time there 
will be little traffic beyond the Mastang district, al- 
though there is likely to be a large trade from there 
during the hot weather. The investigations of the 

190 



SEISTAN 

engineers have proved that in all the valleys water is 
everywhere within practicable distance, under 150 
feet generally. Where there was desolation before, 
and where it was not believed possible to find water, 
plentiful springs have been tapped. 

Splendid work has been done by two young engi- 
neers, fresh from Scotland, Mr. Slee and Mr. Young. 
In two years or less these young men have learned 
the languages generally spoken by the workmen, 
and in dealing with the tribesmen, who numbered 
some thousands, they have had neither difl&culty 
nor opposition. Their lives cannot be said to have 
been lonely. Day and night they were busy, orders 
or instructions being incessantly solicited, while their 
words were law in settling the disputes that so fre- 
quently arose between the tribesmen. 

With the advent of the railway to Nushki, that 
place now becomes the starting-point of the great 
Indo-Perso overland caravan route. Prior to 1896, 
the existence of certain questions of a political nature 
prevented any definite steps being taken towards the 
construction of a trade-way between Seistan and 
Nushki. The Amir of Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman, 
whose fiscal policy was well calculated to stifle trade, 
was in occupation of the Chageh district, through 
which lay the direct route from Nushki to Seistan. 
It was eminently desirable that a change should be 
effected in the ownership of this district. In accord- 
ance with the Agreement of 1893, drawn up between 
Sir Mortimer Durand and Abdur Rahman, the Cha- 
geh district was assigned to the British sphere. In 

191 



AFGHANISTAN 

the following years, 1894-1896, a Boundary Commis- 
sion under Captain McMahon occupied itself in de- 
marcating the frontier of Afghanistan south of the 
Helmund and up to Koh-i-Malik-i-Siah; in 1895, by 
agreement with the Shah, a second Commission 
under Colonel Holdich proceeded to define the Perso- 
Beloochi frontier between Kohak and Koh-i-Malik- 
i-Siah — a distance of 300 miles. So soon as these 
two missions had completed their labours Captain 
Webb Ware was appointed the Assistant Political 
Officer and was placed in charge of the stretch of 
country which had accrued to the Government of 
India as the result of the demarcation. Major Trench 
proceeding to Seistan. Captain Webb Ware at once 
set himself to work upon plans for the creation of a 
trade route between Seistan and Nushki, the good 
fortune which had attended his earlier efforts being 
carried a stage further in 1900, when the interests of 
the Khan of Kelat in the Nushki district were bought 
out at a perpetual quit-rent of 9000 rupees per 
annum. Success has been pronounced; and both the 
character and complexion of this barren region have 
been transformed. No more difficult country could 
have been found for development. In the days be- 
fore the road was started the region was the home of 
roving parties of Beloochi and Afghan ruffians, who 
periodically sallied forth to plunder passing caravans. 
Further, heat, the absence of water, and the dangers 
of the journey to India over long desert stretches 
militated against its adoption. Only at rare inter- 
vals did a caravan attempt the venture. 

192 



SEISTAN 

These defects are now, in the main, surmounted, 
and an excellent trade route is established between 
Nushki and Nasratabad, the marches being divided 
into twenty-one stages. Between Nushki and Robat 
a kutcha road, varying in breadth between 10 feet 
and 20 feet, is laid out. Dak bungalows have also 
been established at regularly appointed stations and 
telegraphic conmiunications exist. Around the sev- 
eral bungalows there are now tiny settlements where 
itinerant traders exist on the proceeds of their busi- 
ness with the caravans. Marauding bands have 
ceased to worry, as their leaders have been made re- 
sponsible for the safe custody of travellers between 
the different stages. At each post there is a small 
levy-guard and quarters for the camel-dak, which 
carries the mail between India and Seistan in nine 
and a half days. Although it is impossible to avoid 
the heat, the water diflficulty is no longer insuper- 
able. Wells have been sunk and, since the aboli- 
tion of all tolls and duties on the route — which 
wise precaution was made an essential preliminary 
to the inauguration of the service — an increasing 
stream of camels pass to and fro, between India and 
IGiorassan. 

The road follows two sides of a triangle, skirting 
the whole of Southern Afghanistan before entering 
Persia at Koh-i-Malik-i-Siah. The distance from 
Nushki to Koh-i-Malik-i-Siah and thence direct to 
Meshed is just 1000 miles. To aid traders using this 
route a rebate of seven-eighths of the Indian customs 
duty is allowed. As the sea is free to Bunder Abbas, 

193 



AFGHANISTAN 

this concession should be increased so that the start- 
ing-points of the caravans — i.e.^ Nushki and Bun- 
der Abbas — might be on a footing of equahty. 
"Drawbacks" of 33 per cent, are granted by the 
North- Western Railway on all goods sent by it and 
destined for Persia. Additional facilities have also 
been arranged for the trade using this new route; 
in order to avoid the difficulty of having to go 150 
miles out of their way to Nasratabad for customs 
examinations, hitherto experienced by merchants 
proceeding by the Nushki route to Khorassan, a first- 
class Customs Bureau has been established at Koh- 
i-Malik-i-Siah. This enables kafilas to proceed direct 
to Kain and Khorassan via the Palankoh route and 
to avoid the detour through Seistan. Furthermore, 
a British Consular Agent has been deputed to Koh- 
i-Malik-i-Siah, one of whose principal duties it will 
be to watch the interests of British traders using 
the route and to assist them in their dealings with 
the Customs authorities. As regards traffic, since the 
opening of the Quetta-Nushki Railway a considerable 
flow of trade has set in from the Helmund direction 
via Chageh, as caravans for Herat and Afghan tra- 
ders naturally prefer to follow the Helmund to a point 
north-west of Chageh and then to turn southwards. 
A stretch of desert still has to be crossed; but it is 
less in extent than that between Nushki and the 
Persian frontier at Robat. 

In order to encourage traders a revised schedule 
of rates for the hire of camels along the Nushki- 
Seistan-Meshed route has been issued by the Gov- 

194 



SEISTAN 

eminent of India. By these changes the hire for 
single camels carrying 400 pounds has been reduced 
from 57 rs. 8 a. for the single journey to 55 rs.; for 
the double journey from 100 to 95 rs., the time hav- 
ing been decreased from 105 to 85 days: this latter 
is a distinct advance. The charge per kharwar has 
been reduced from 370 krans to 359 krans 11 shahis, 
or 89 rs. 6 a. This concession does not yet equal the 
average rate of hire from Bunder Abbas to Meshed, 
which is 300 krans per kharwar. Goods must be 
packed in gunny bags, boxes, or leather cases, no 
package weighing more than 2j maunds. Special 
rates are quoted for wood-work and iron materials. 
The periods allowed for the journeys are: 

Quetta to Seistan 45 days 

Seistan to Meshed 40 " 

Nushki to Seistan 38 " 

Contractors will be held responsible for all loss and 
damage to goods in transit obviously due to the 
neglect of the camel-men. They will be at liberty to 
refuse goods for delivery if they are not properly 
packed and secured. Loss through raids will be con- 
sidered beyond the contractors' responsibility. Ten 
days' notice must be given for any number of camels 
required up to 40, 25 days for over 50 and up to 
300, 50 days above 300 but not exceeding 1000. 
Express camels can be hired at higher rates, the 
journey from Quetta to Seistan being then made in 
30 days. 

The evident success of the new route has been the 
more remarkable because M. Naus, the head of the 

195 



AFGHANISTAN 

Belgian administration that conducts the Persian 
Customs, has devised special means to check the 
expansion of Indian trade, two Customs officers being 
appointed to Nasratabad to deal with it. To give 
zest to their existence these men imposed many novel 
regulations upon caravans. The camel-men are fined 
for the non-observance of arbitrary rules which are 
purposely varied so that confusion may be created; 
the men are thrown into prison, the animals seized, 
and the goods confiscated. In addition, the Cus- 
toms barrier in Seistan is reinforced by a plague cor- 
don between Seistan and Khorassan against caravans 
from India, in spite of the fact that the period of any 
possible incubation has expired long before a caravan 
from Quetta can reach Seistan, and that the limits 
of time, within which quarantine is permissible, 
have been laid down by the decision of the Venice 
Sanitary Congress. The headquarters of this latest 
pest are at Turbat-i-Haidari and Karez. Mean- 
while the Russian and Belgian authorities encourage 
the circulation of alarmist rumours about the mor- 
tality from Indian plague in Seistan, the doctor at 
the Russian legation in Teheran recently having 
spread a statement that 99 per cent, of deaths 
from plague had occurred in the Naizar district of 
Seistan. While these reports are very greatly exag- 
gerated in respect of Indian plague, an epidemic of 
this disease nevertheless ravaged Seistan during the 
spring of 1906. At Nasratabad the population was 
reduced through it from 2500 to rather more than 
300. The efforts of Dr. Kelly, the medical officer 

196 



SEISTAN 

attached to the British Consulate in Nasratabad, 
however, did much to arrest it, over 500 inoculations 
having been made and an excellent impression cre- 
ated by the recovery of a man who had been seized 
after being inoculated by him. Nonetheless, its 
existence prepares the way for more vigorous precau- 
tions against Indian caravans, the measures of the 
plague officials being directed against the develop- 
ment of Indian commercial relations with Northern 
Persia and Northern Afghanistan in the hope that 
Persian and Afghan merchants may frequent the 
Meshed emporium. At the present moment these 
preventive measures have achieved conspicuous suc- 
cess, and Russian commercial activity has entirely 
subjugated Khorassan Province. No headway ap- 
pears to be possible for British trade; while the rapid 
growth of Russian commercial influence, under this 
system of pernicious assistance, threatens to reduce 
Seistan to the position of a commercial base from 
which the markets of India can be attacked by arti- 
cles of Russian manufacture. A precisely similar 
state of things prevails at Meshed in respect of 
Afghanistan. 



197 



CHAPTER XIII 

PROVINCES AND RACES 

AFGHANISTAN to-day is divided into five 
major provinces — Kabul, Herat, Kanda- 
har, Afghan Turkestan, and Badakshan; 
and two territories — Kafiristan and Wakhan. Kan- 
dahar includes Seistan and the basin of the Helmund; 
Herat the basin of the Hari-Rud and north-western 
Afghanistan; Afghan Turkestan the former khanates, 
Andkhui, Maimana, Balkh, and KJiulm; the province 
of Badakshan administers the territory of Wakhan 
and the regions of the Upper Oxus. Kabul, Herat, 
and Kandahar are the centres of their respective 
provinces; Tashkurgan and Mazar-i-Sharif of Afghan 
Turkestan; and Faizabad of Badakshan. 

The province of Kabul is bounded on the north- 
west by the Koh-i-Baba, north by the Hindu Kush, 
north-east by the Panjsher River, and on the east by 
Jagdalik. In the south its limits are defined by the 
Sufed Koh and Ghazni; to the west by the hill 
country of the Hazaras, while its area of administra- 
tion includes Bamian and Haibak. The province 
is very mountainous, but it contains also a large 
portion of arable lands which, lying along the base 
of the hills, derive much of their richness from the 
offscourings of the mountain faces. 

198 



PROVINCES AND RACES 

Wheat and barley are the chief products, these 
grains constituting the staple food of the poorest 
classes. Nonetheless, the crops are not sufficient 
for the needs of the province and the demands of 
an inter-provincial export trade, which exists in 
a flourishing condition. Cereals are imported from 
Ghazni and rice from Upper Bangash, Jelalabad, 
Lughman, and even Kunar. In bad years, when 
prices rule high, corn is obtained from Bamian, 
which is also the chief centre for supplies of ghee. 
The Hazara country and the Ghilzai region are 
active competitors with Bamian in this trade. Agri- 
culture and pastoral pursuits in the main attract the 
sole energies of the countryside; the most impor- 
tant pasturage existing in Logar. Grass is plentiful 
in the Kabul Valley and also towards Ghorband, 
while agricultural development is greatest in the 
Butkhak district. Water is abundant and every 
land-owner devotes considerable attention to fruit 
culture. A large porportion of the population in 
the Kabul Province live in tents during the sum- 
mer months. The villages are of various sizes and 
usually number 150 families. As a rule the villages 
are not fortified; but each contains a small guard- 
tower from where a watch is kept over the villages, 
fields, and flocks. Sheep are maintained for purposes 
of breeding, but bullocks, camels, mules, and horses 
are employed in transport — trading between Tur- 
kestan, India, and Khorassan. Bullocks are made use 
of within the precincts of the Kabul Valley; camels 
between Kabul Province, Khorassan, and Turkes- 

199 



AFGHANISTAN 

tan; mules and ponies between the province and the 
Hazara country. 

The province of Badakshan Hes in the extreme east 
of Afghanistan. It is bounded on the north and the 
east by the course of the Oxus, south by the crests of 
the Hindu Kush as far as the junction of the Hindu 
Kush with the Mustagh and Sarikol Ranges, west by 
a Hne which crosses the Turkestan plain southwards 
from the junction of the Kunduz River with the 
Oxus, from which point it proceeds ultimately to 
strike the Hindu Kush. The principal sub-divisions 
of Badakshan are: on the west, Rustak, Kataghan, 
Ghori, Narin, and Anderab; on the north, Darwaz, 
Ragh, and Shiwa; on the east, Gharan, Ishkashim, 
Zebak, and Wakhan; elsewhere, Faizabad, Fark- 
har, Minjan, and Kishm. Numerous lofty mountain 
ranges and deep rugged valleys, wherein there is no 
little agricultural development, define its physiog- 
raphy, while ethnographically the bulk of the peo- 
ple of the province are Tajik. 

In winter the climate is severe, the mountain 
passes being blocked by snow and the rivers frozen. 
In general it appears somewhat diversified and in 
the loftier parts of the province the agricultural 
seasons are frequently ruined by early frost. The 
chief industrial centres of the region are situated in 
the more temperate zones where the valleys are shel- 
tered by the orological development. The rainfall, by 
reason of the stimulating influence of the forests, is 
abundant, especially in March and April. With the 
end of April a period of drought, continuing through- 

200 



PROVINCES AND RACES 

out May, June, July, and in a lesser degree in the 
months of August, September, and October, begins. 
Snow makes its appearance in November, but the 
heavier falls do not begin until the middle of 
December. 

The principal industry of Badakshan is agricul- 
tural; but there is also considerable mineral wealth, 
while salt deposits and sulphur mines are known 
to exist and in some measure have been exploited. 
Salt and sulphur are found in the valley of the Kok- 
cha; iron exists near Faizabad, while the ruby mines, 
for which the province has been celebrated, and 
the lapis-lazuli mines are found respectively on the 
right bank of the Oxus close to Ishkashim, in Gharan, 
and near the sources of the Kokcha. The ruby 
mines lie some 1200 feet above the Oxus River; but 
the deposits are not worked regularly, although from 
time to time in the reign of Abdur Rahman projects 
for developing them were initiated. 

The alpine territory of Wakhan lies in the extreme 
north-east. It consists of two upland valleys which 
are traversed by the Panka. These are hemmed in 
on either side by lofty mountains; those to the south 
form the northern section of the; Hindu Kush, here 
crossed by very difficult passes, the easiest of which 
is the Baroghil (12,000 feet) leading to Chitral and 
Gilgit. The chief resources of the people are derived 
from their flocks of sheep and droves of Tibetan yak. 
Wakhan is too elevated and sterile for tillage, but 
it yields a pasturage like that of the Pamir region. 
In this alpine district the lowest hamlet is 8000 feet; 

201 



AFGHANISTAN 

Sarhad, the highest, is no less than 11,000 feet above 
the sea. Nevertheless, pulse and barley crops are 
grown in the more sheltered glens. 

As a province Afghan Turkestan ranks among 
the most important in the State. Before its division 
at the hands of Abdur Rahman it embraced much 
of the territory which he apportioned to the province 
of Badakshan, including every important khanate 
contained within the Oxus region. If now, when 
Afghanistan has been reduced to order and a settled 
system of administration has given place to the 
authority of the Khans, its revenues are less than 
others, its position is equal to Herat and Kandahar. 
In importance it has ranked hitherto with the capital 
province and contained the divisions of Maimana, 
Andkhui, Balkh, and Khulm, together with a num- 
ber of so-called industrial centres, including Tash- 
kurgan, a commercial market and Mazar-i-Sharif. 
The limits of the province include the southern half 
of the Oxus basin from the frontier of Badakshan 
on the east to the upper waters of the Murghab on 
the west. The Oxus forms the northern border 
from the confluence of the Kokcha River to Khwaja 
Sala. To the south it is contained by the high 
mountains of the Hindu Kush, which form the 
dividing line of the country from east to west. 

Quite lately Habib Ullah has proposed to redistrib- 
ute the various districts which make up the prov- 
inces of Badakshan and Afghan Turkestan, so that 
two new provinces may soon come into existence. 
These will have their headquarters at Mazar-i-Sharif 

202 



PROVINCES AND RACES 

and Khanabad respectively. The first will con- 
sist of the districts of Balkh, Akcha, Shibirghan, 
Andkhui, and Tashkurgan, extending to the Oxus 
on the north and Bamian on the south. The second 
will take in all the country eastwards to Chitral, 
including Badakshan and Wakhan. Each province 
will have a governor with two deputies. Sirdar 
Ghulam Ali Khan, brother of the Amir, will be 
governor of one, and another brother. Sirdar Omar 
Khan, will have his headquarters in the other. It 
is intended at a later date to subdivide the prov- 
inces of Herat and Kandahar in similar fashion, all 
the governors being of royal blood. 

The province of Herat extends, east and west, 
from near the sources of the Hari-Rud to the Persian 
boundary beyond Ghorian, some 300 miles; and in 
length, between its northern frontier and Seistan 
in the south, some 200 miles. As a whole the 
region lacks any particular industrial or agricultu- 
ral activity, its present appearance suggesting that 
the unsettled conditions prevailing on its northern 
frontiers have discouraged all efforts towards local 
development. Although it contains such centres as 
Obeh and Sabzawar, besides places of less note, 
it is an impoverished province and requires years 
of honest administration before it can recover from 
the ill effects of the abuses which have distinguished 
its existence. 

Although the Herat Province for a long time has 
been the seat of Afghan government, sometimes in 
subordination to Kabul or upon occasion indepen- 

203 



AFGHANISTAN 

dent, it has been, nevertheless, the object of constant 
attention from Persia. Since Ahmed Shah Durani 
founded the Durani Empire, Herat has ranked as 
one of the three chief cities of the country; and, even 
with the downfall of the dynasty which Ahmed Shah 
established and his son Timur wrecked, it has con- 
trived to play an interesting part in the fortunes of 
the State, if not always an important one. But 
from the time when it was incorporated in the Afghan 
kingdom by Dost Mohammed forty-three years ago, 
it has experienced without any serious interruption 
the yoke of the Kabul Government, until, freed 
from the menace of Persian aggression by British 
intervention, it needs to-day only a period of equi- 
table government to restore its fortunes. 

At the present date the province comprises between 
five and six hundred villages, with some forty-five 
thousand households distributed over the centres 
of Ghorian, Sabzawar, Farah Bakwa, Kurak, Obeh, 
Ghor, and Kala Nao. In the days when it formed a 
separate principality, many tribes, now lying within 
the Persian and Russian boundaries, were allied in 
arms with Herat, the prestige of its reputation 
enforcing a general recognition of its position and 
obedience to its behests. The old order has now 
quite disappeared. With the advance of Russia to 
the northern frontier of Afghanistan the indepen- 
dence of these roving peoples has been curtailed and 
their love of war suppressed, the new arrangement 
depriving the former khanate of no small proportion 
of its earlier glories. As a province of Afghanistan, 

204 



PROVINCES AND RACES 

Herat is the headquarters of the Commander-in- 
Chief of the north-western frontier and the seat of 
a provincial governor; it remains to be seen whether 
it becomes a centre of industrial activity in connec- 
tion with the army. 

While it is impossible to define with absolute 
accuracy the various boundaries, there is no doubt 
that in point of size the province of Kandahar is the 
most extensive of any in Afghanistan. Although 
it has long ceased to be the seat of the supreme 
government of the country, this province is second 
to none in the value of its commercial importance, 
while its revenues have become an important factor 
in the upkeep of the kingdom. The dimensions of its 
wide area extend from a few miles south of Ghazni 
in the north-east to the Persian frontier and from 
the northern extremity of the Hazara country to the 
Afghan-Belooch border. The district centres which 
the province contains are Farah, Kelat-i-Ghilzai, 
Girishk, Laush, Khash, Barakail, and Afghan-Seis- 
tan. A division of interests marks the relations 
existing between Kandahar and the Farah district 
which, although governed from Kandahar, exercises 
complete jurisdiction over its own revenues. Ex- 
cluding this source, the local revenue, which is 
assessed in grain, returns a little short of a million 
rupees annually, the customs and town duties of 
Kandahar city equalling the land revenues of the 
entire province. Lying somewhat closer to Kabul 
than does Herat, Kandahar has shared the fortunes 
of the capital city, revealing the effect in itself of 

205 



AFGHANISTAN 

any change of rulers in Kabul. Nevertheless, while 
it has experienced certain intervals of independence, 
Kandahar Province, unlike Herat Province, has not 
suffered from the effects of continuous dynastic wars 
and the dread of Persian invasion. In general, too, 
the tide of its disasters has flowed from India, Brit- 
ish armies of occupation having been in possession 
of its areas at various dates since Anglo-Indian arms 
first supported the cause of Shah Shu j ah. The days 
of British intervention have passed long since, and 
the province, no less than the city, is now an in- 
tegral part of the Amir's dominions. 

The division of Afghanistan into settled provinces 
is due to the initiative of Dost Mohammed, the earli- 
est movement in this direction being the despatch 
of an expedition under Mohammed Akbar Kian, his 
son. This brought about the downfall of the khan- 
ates in the regions south of the Oxus. Turkestan, 
including what is now described as Badakshan, was 
not completely subjugated as the result of this indi- 
vidual's military activities. It was not until about 
1866, when Shir Ali despatched Mohammed Alum 
Khan to Balkh as Governor of that centre, that the 
operations began which were to lead to the complete 
conquest by Afghan arms of all the khanates con- 
tained within the Oxus region. Mohammed Alum 
Khan, through his general, Hafiz Ullah Khan, de- 
feated Mahmud Shah, the ruler of Badakshan. By 
this victory the dependent states of Shignan Roshan, 
and Wakhan were occupied. Subsequently the an- 
nexation of Maimana rounded off the operations 

206 



PROVINCES AND RACES 

which, in the first instance at the hands of Moham- 
med Akbar Khan and later at the instigation of 
Mohammed Alum Khan, had brought about the ex- 
tension of the Afghan dominions to the banks of the 
Oxus and the Murghab. The conquered area was 
not to remain long without a change in the fashion 
of its government; one of the earliest administrative 
acts of Abdur Rahman was to split it up into two 
divisions — Afghan Turkestan and Badakshan. With 
this improvement upon the previous condition of 
their affairs, these troublous little hot-beds of anarchy 
and misrule were extinguished, the areas being incor- 
porated in one or other of the two provinces; their 
former boundaries now represent the limits of the 
districts or counties into which they were converted. 
The chief of these khanates was that of Kunduz, 
presided over by a Mir and covering 19,000 square 
miles. It was divided into three districts: 

(1) Kunduz, with the sub-districts of Baglan, 
Ghori, Doshi, Killagai, Khinjan, Anderab, Khost, 
Narin, Ishkashim, Khanabad, Tashkurgan, Haibak. 

(2) Talikhan, with the sub-districts of Talikhan, 
Rustak, Chiab, Faizabad, Jarm, Wakhan. 

(3) Hazrat Imam, with the sub-districts of Hazrat 
Imam, Slab, Kulab, Tapa, Kurgan Yube, Kabadian, 
Muminabad. 

Great changes have taken place in the territory 
which once belonged to Kunduz. Kulab, Mumina- 
bad, Kabadian, have passed into the possession of 
Russia; while Ghori, Narin, Kunduz, Baglan, Ande- 
rab, Rustak, Wakhan, and Faizabad have been shorn 

207 



AFGHANISTAN 

from its territories and handed over to the province 
of Badakshan for administrative purposes. In the 
days when the Khan of Kunduz exercised juris- 
diction over a belt of country extending from the 
Wakhan Valley to the Kunduz River, the population 
was returned at 420,000 people, in the main com- 
posed of Uzbegs and Tajiks. At that time, too, the 
district of Kunduz possessed 60,000 houses, that of 
Talikhan 25,000 houses, while in Hazrat Imam there 
were 20,000 houses. Kunduz, the former capital 
of this territory, has fallen from its high estate. It 
is nowadays a mean and sparsely inhabited district; 
the little town itself contains barely 1500 houses, 
the extreme unhealthfulness of the region having 
caused the residents of this former populous centre 
to abandon it. The place still boasts traces of a 
fortress; and a wretched citadel, situated in its 
north-east corner, is the seat of a petty official. 
Time has quite obscured the lines of the defences, 
and a dry ditch, which once surrounded the work, is 
now laid out in fruit gardens or sown with patches 
of corn. 

West of Kunduz lay the khanate of Khulm, now 
eclipsed by the more important centre of Tash- 
kurgan. In the days of its supremacy the Khulm 
territory included the districts of Tashkurgan, Hai- 
bak, and Khurram Sarbag. When the seat of local 
government was removed from Khulm to Tashkur- 
gan, the place lapsed into decay and, now that 
Haibak has been brought under the direct admin- 
istration of the Kabul Province, Tashkurgan has 

208 



PROVINCES AND RACES 

become the most important centre of what was once 
a flourishing khanate. The town of Khulm stood 
out in the Oxus plain, surrounded by a belt of very 
productive land. The irrigation of this district was 
highly developed; even now there are numerous 
orchards and cultivated fields about the site of the 
ruined city. The population has disappeared and 
barely 100 families remain on the outskirts. 

To the east of Kunduz, 15 miles distant, is Khan- 
abad, the proposed centre of one of the suggested 
new provinces. It is situated on the right bank of 
the Farkhan branch of the Kunduz River. The 
population is dependent on traffic from Cis-Oxus 
areas, although in recent years considerable local 
trade has sprung up. The town is surrounded by 
high walls and lies on the brow of hills which over- 
look the Kunduz region; it contains some 1500 
households. In summer time a far larger estimate 
could be returned as its numbers fluctuate. A posi- 
tion of some military strength has been made, and 
the fort, which is comparatively new, possesses strong 
mud- walls, 18 feet in height. The Farkhan River, 
abreast of Khanabad, divides into two channels. 
The western channel is 3 feet deep and 15 yards 
wide; the stream possesses a rate of 5 miles an 
hour. The eastern channel is 60 yards wide and 
flows immediately below the walls of the town. 

Tashkurgan, a cheerless group of villages enclosed 
by a mud-wall, is the great trade mart of Afghan- 
Turkestan and a distributing point for the mer- 
chandise which caravans bring there from India and 

209 



AFGHANISTAN 

Bokhara. The wall, which is 3 miles in circumfer- 
ence, is pierced by wooden gates, and the houses 
of the villages number between 15,000 and 20,000. 
The population is subject to fluctuation. It falls 
as low as 15,000 in the winter season, rising with 
great rapidity as soon as the opening of the passes 
permits the resumption of trade relations with China, 
Russian Turkestan, and India. Each house is pro- 
tected by an eight-foot high mud-wall, which imparts 
a dreary and monotonous appearance to the streets. 
The houses are built of clay and sun-dried bricks, 
with one storey and a domed roof. As a rule, they 
stand amid a profusion of fruit-trees; and, in the 
approach from the west, the town is lost in a maze 
of fruit gardens. The streets are straight and only of 
moderate breadth; they intersect each other at right 
angles and down the centre of each there is an irri- 
gating channel. A branch of the Doaba River, in- 
creased by many rivulets, runs through the town, 
but it is absorbed by the soil soon after it has passed 
old Khulm. 

Bazaars are held every Monday and Thursday 
and, in addition to the produce of Bokhara and India, 
there is a considerable market in live stock: horses, 
mules, cows, sheep, goats, and asses being assembled 
in their respective quarters for sale. Cotton goods, 
cloth, and silk-stuffs from India; tanned leather, raw 
cotton, hides, fuel from Turkestan; grapes, raisins, 
pistachio nuts, pomegranates, dried plums from the 
country-side; rock salt, Russian boots, indigenous 
dyes — as the pomegranate bark and madder — 

210 



PROVINCES AND RACES 

and indigo imported from India, are exposed, 
together with chogas from Chitral and raw wool 
from Badakshan. Printed chintzes, quilts, and 
turbans are also brought from Russian Turkestan; 
and coarse saddlery from Kabul is much in request. 
One section of the bazaar is set aside for the sale of 
melons, which are raised in great quantities in the 
neighbourhood. 

The population is typical of a frontier region, and 
a sprinkling of natives from every quarter of Cen- 
tral Asia may be found there. The Hindoos act as 
money-lenders and bankers, exacting an exorbitant 
usury; and other natives of India keep the drug 
stores and the dye shops. The vendors of dried 
fruits are mostly from Kabul. The trade with 
Yarkand is in the hands of Andijani merchants, 
who acquire the sheep and furs of the Oxus terri- 
tory in exchange, at Yarkand, for tea, which is 
disposed of in Turkestan. 

Fifty miles to the west of Khulm there is the 
beginning of what once was the territory of Balkh, 
which draws its water from 18 canals fed from the 
Balkh River. To-day the scene of the Mother of 
Cities reflects nothing but decay. The bazaar, sim- 
ply a covered street with a few shops in it, runs 
through the village. The combined population of 
the district does not exceed 2000, including a small , 
colony of Hindoos and about 70 Jews. Both these 
classes are shop-keepers and each is subject to a 
capitation tax. The caste of the Hindoos is shown 
by the usual painted marks upon the forehead, and 

211 



AFGHANISTAN 

the Jews wear a black sheepskin cap. The cHmate 
of Balkh is very insalubrious, but the heat is tem- 
perate. In June the thermometer does not rise 
above 80°, while July is the hottest month of the 
year. The crops do not ripen until July, which 
makes the harvest fifty days later than Peshawar. 
The region is unusually fertile. Indeed, the fruit 
of Balkh is most famous, and the apricots grow to 
the size of apples. The soil is of a greyish colour, 
like pipe-clay, and very rich. Within the Balkh re- 
gion water is distributed by means of aqueducts lead- 
ing from the Balkh River. The area of cultivation 
is not sufficient to exhaust the capacity of these 
canals, their constant overflow accounting for the 
extreme unhealthfulness of the place. Aside from 
this peculiarity, the country is not naturally marshy. 
The district lies some 1800 feet above the level of 
the sea, about 6 miles from the hills on a gentle 
slope, which sinks towards the Oxus. The waters 
of the Balkh River do not at the present day reach 
the Oxus, the stream being consumed in the Balkh 
plain. 

The spectacle of ruined Balkh, which at one time 
extended in a circuit of 20 miles, must recall Old 
Merv. Formerly it was surrounded by walls, some 
6J miles in circumference. Nothing is left of these 
walls to-day but a mound of dried mud, worn by 
the weather into all manner of desolate and fan- 
tastic shapes. The whole of the northern half of 
the old city is one vast waste. Within the Akchah 
gate three lofty arches mark the remains of the 

212 



PROVINCES AND RACES 

Jumma Mas j id and at the cross-roads there are the 
foundations of the charsu. A Httle to the east of 
it there are two lofty gateways, the remains of the 
main city gates — the western portion of the city 
having been added subsequently. The southern and 
south-eastern portions stood upon a high mound 
which resembled the position of Herat, but all the 
remainder, with the exception of the old fort and 
citadel, was low and not more that 10 feet thick. 
The citadel, in its south-west corner, stood some 
50 feet higher still. The whole was surrounded by 
a separate moat, rather narrow towards the city 
but with steeply scarped sides. ^ This citadel must 
now be nothing but a mound, the weather having 
obliterated even the remnants found by Colonel 
C. E. Yate. To its north lay the fort, an empty, 
bare place, surrounded by high walls and ruined 
bastions, with no signs of habitation except the 
debris of a mass of low brick buildings at its south- 
ern end. It stood at a considerable height above 
the level of its surroundings. 

Between Khulm and Balkh, 9 miles east of Balkh 
and 26 miles from Khulm, is Mazar-i-Sharif, situ- 
ated on a canal drawn from the Balkh-ab and con- 
taining rather more than 2000 households. It is 
held in the greatest veneration by Mohammedans 
in general and especially by Shiahs, on account of 
the firm conviction that Hazrat Ali was buried there. 
The tomb consists of two lofty cupolas which were 
built some 480 years ago. An annual fair is held, 

1 "Northern Afghanistan." Major C. E. Yate. 

213 



AFGHANISTAN 

during which old and young, the blind, the infirm, 
the halt, and the maimed of many a distant region 
crowd to Mazar-i-Sharif and, encamping round its 
shrine, plead day and night for the saint's interposi- 
tion on their behalf. Where cures are effected, they 
are the result more usually of a change of air and 
scene; but the greater portion of the faithful return 
as they came, bewailing their want of belief and 
their sins, yet never questioning the potency of the 
shrine. 

Mazar-i-Sharif is the summer resort of nearly the 
whole population of the Balkh district, as its situa- 
tion is more elevated, its temperature less oppressive 
and its air less impure than that enjoyed by the 
Mother of Cities. In contrast with Balkh it is the 
centre of a flourishing district, where the soil is rich, 
returning ample compensation for any agricultural 
attention that it may receive. A large trade ema- 
nates from this region, as, in addition to an ex- 
tensive settled population, there are considerable 
military establishments. The headquarters of these 
are located at Takht-a-Pul, where Dost Mohammed 
was occupied for five years in constructing a fortified 
cantonment, and Dehdadi. The former is protected 
by a broad, deep moat and enclosed within double 
walls 30 feet in height, pierced for musketry, bear- 
ing gun towers, and flanked by imposing bastions; 
the latter commands the road from the Oxus and 
lies upon the summit of a high mountain overlooking 
Mazar-i-Sharif from the south-west. Twelve years 
were spent upon the construction and equipment of 

214 



PROVINCES AND RACES 

this frontier stronghold, and in the days of Abdur 
Rahman it was defended by an assortment of guns, 
embracing Krupp field-pieces, naval quick-firers — 
such as Nordenfeldt and Hotchkiss — and a number 
of Maxims. The works are well protected from gun- 
fire, and great pains have been taken to depress all 
epaulements to the level of the mountain face. 

Beyond Balkh the territories of a number of 
minor khanates began. Forty miles west of Balkh 
there was Akcha, an Uzbeg khanate, while farther 
west again there were the areas of the four territo- 
ries of Andkhui, Shibirghan, Saripul, and Maimana. 
The first and the last of these petty governments 
were the most important, the latter preserving until 
lately a form of independence. Each of these little 
states has experienced singular vicissitudes, fighting 
constantly among themselves, occasionally uniting 
against the Afghans or the Amir of Bokhara. 
Andkhui, particularly, has endured many reverses of 
fortune, since, lying upon the roads from Herat, the 
Turkoman country, and Bokhara, it has always been 
subject to attack. In recent years it has enjoyed 
a period of peace, but even under existing condi- 
tions it has not regained its earlier prosperity. At 
one time the khanate contained nearly 50,000 fam- 
ilies, 13,000 living in the town. The population is 
a mixture of many races — Tajiks, Uzbegs, Persians, 
and Turkomans — whose religious convictions are 
divided between the Shiah and Sunni sects in almost 
equal proportions. 

Andkhui is situated on the Sangalak River, which, 

215 



AFGHANISTAN 

rising in the Band-i-Turkestan, flows past Maimana 
to be lost in the desert before reaching the Oxus. 
The water of the river is undrinkable; but it is used 
extensively for purposes of irrigation, and imparts 
so much prosperity to the Andkhui district that a 
zone of cultivation extends several miles round the 
city. Fruit, corn, rice, and live stock are raised in 
great abundance; a bustling trade is conducted in 
black lamb-skins with Persia, in camels with the 
districts beyond the Oxus, in fruit and cereal prod- 
ucts with inter-provincial centres. The population 
now resident in the town has fallen from its former 
high figure; it is estimated that there are only 3000 
families within the walls. The houses are all flat- 
roofed, low mud-buildings. The city walls are in 
ruins; the bazaar and the fort are the sole points of 
interest in the place. The bazaar, which is situated 
where four cross-roads meet, is insignificant. It lies 
in the centre of the town and is roofed with matting. 
The market days are Sundays and Thursdays; but 
little business at other times is transacted. Beyond 
the bazaar there is the fort — a high, irregularly 
shaped enclosure, some 250 yards or 300 yards in 
diameter. It is occupied by a garrison consisting 
of one company from the regular regiments at Mai- 
mana, 3 companies of Khasadars, 2 guns, and 100 
sowars, the latter force being quartered beyond the 
walls on the northern face. 

The last of the little Idianates, whose areas now 
compose the province of Afghan Turkestan, is that 
of Maimana. This extends a distance of 18 miles in 

216 



PROVINCES AND RACES 

breadth and 20 miles in length. Besides the chief 
town it contains ten villages, of which the most con- 
siderable are Kaisar, Kafarkala, Alvar, and Khoja- 
kand. Maimana itself has 35,000 families. The 
population, divided into settlers and nomads, is 
estimated at 100,000 souls; in point of nationality 
they are for the most part Uzbegs of the tribes 
of Min, Atchamali, and Duz. There is a sprinkling 
of Tajiks, Heratis, and a few Hindoos, Afghans, 
and Jews. Hindoos and Jews pay small capitation 
taxes. The town Maimana is situated upon a plain 
in the midst of hills. It is surrounded by an earth- 
wall 12 feet high, 5 feet thick, and a ditch. It has 
towers at the angles and four gates. Its extent is 
about 2 miles in circumference, but the place shows 
considerable neglect and decay. The town is ex- 
tremely filthy, and the bazaar is in a most dilap- 
idated condition. In it are three mosques and two 
schools, the former constructed of mud and the latter 
of brick. 

The revenue of the district is estimated at £20,000, 
but the taxes of the town are levied by the local 
authorities as follows: one tithe on the produce of 
land, one tila (Rs. 7) on each garden, 2 J per cent, 
on cattle, sheep, and merchandise, one-half tila on 
each house, six tilas on each shop, one tila on the 
sales of horses or camels. In addition to the tax 
on merchandise, transit duties are levied on every 
camel-load of iron or other goods, while the Gov- 
ernment also forms a close monopoly of alum, nitre, 
and sulphur. 

217 



AFGHANISTAN 

The prevailing climatic conditions of Afghanistan 
are dryness combined with great extremes of tem- 
perature. Snow lies on the ground for three months 
during the year in the Kabul and Ghazni districts, 
while many of the peaks from the Hindu Kush to 
Kelat rise above the snow-line. But so much de- 
pends on elevation that Jelalabad, 2000 feet above 
the sea, is scarcely colder than India, while the winters 
on the neighbouring Kohistan uplands are as severe 
as those of Russia. The coldest month of the year 
is February, the mean minimum being 17° F. and 
the maximum 38° in the northern districts. The 
greatest cold is accompanied by an extreme lowness 
of temperature; during the continuation of the cold 
wave, which may remain for several days, the tem- 
perature varies from a mean of 12° below zero to 
a maximum of 17° below freezing-point. In Kabul, 
where the snow lies upon the ground for three months, 
the thermometer falls to 3° below zero and in Ghazni 
it sinks to 10° below zero, with a daily maximum 
rise of 5°. The summer heat, on the other hand, 
is everywhere high, especially in the Oxus region 
where a shade maximum of 110° to 120° is usual. 
At Kabul (6500 feet) the glass rises to 90° and 100° 
in the shade, and in Kandahar to 110°. Nonethe- 
less, southern Afghanistan is, on the whole, decidedly 
more salubrious than the fever-stricken lowland dis- 
tricts of Afghan Turkestan. 

If such is an outline of the physical and climatic 
conditions of Afghanistan, the ethnographic divisions 
no less require mention. In spite of the disappear- 

218 



PROVINCES AND RACES 



ance of the khanates and the incorporation of their 
territories with Kabul, strong differences of race 
still mark out the several peoples. 

The subjoined table comprises the different tribes 
classified according to their geographical distribution: 



Aryans 



Galcha 
Branch 



Mongolo- 
Tartars 



Iranic 
Branch 



Indie 
Branch [ 

Mongol 
Branch 

Turki 
Branch 



Wakhis 
Badakhshis 
Swatis 

Siah-Posh Kafirs 
Safis 

Chagnans 
Kohistanis 

Afghans 



Tajiks 

Seistanis 

Hindkis 

Hazaras 
Aimaks 
Uzbegs 

Turkomans 

Kizil Bashis 



Hindu Kush (northern slopes). 



Hindu Kush (southern slopes). 

Hills north of Kabul. 
jKabtJ; Suliman Mountains; Kan- 
[ dahar; Helmimd basin; Herat. 

{Herat; most towns and settled 
districts. 

I Lower Hehnimd; Hamun. 
Most large towns. 

I Northern highlands between Ba- 
J main and Herat. 
Afghan Turkestan. 



Herat, Maimana, and Andkhui. 
Kabul chiefly. 



The Afghans claim to be Ben-i-Israel, but since 
Ahmed Shah Durani announced the independence 
of his State the Afghans of Afghanistan have styled 
themselves Durani. They are settled principally in 
the Kandahar country, extending into Seistan and 
to the borders of the Herat Valley. Eastward they 
spread across the Afghan border into the Toba high- 
lands north of the Khojak, where they are repre- 
sented by Achakzai and Sadozai clans. They exist 

219 



AFGHANISTAN 

in the Kabul districts as Barakzai (the Amir's clan), 
and as Mahmundzai (Mohmands), and Yusufzai. 
They occupy the hills north of the Kabul River, 
Bajaor, Swat, Buner, and part of the Peshawar 
plains. 

After the Afghans the dominant people are the 
Pukhtun or Pathans, represented by a variety of 
tribes, many of whom are recognised as being of 
Indian origin. They inhabit the hilly regions along 
the immediate British frontier. The Afridi Jowaki 
and Orakzai clans hold the highlands immediately 
south of the Khyber and Peshawar, the Turis of the 
Kurram, the Dawaris of Tochi, and the Waziris of 
Waziristan filling up the intervening Pathan Hills 
north of the Gomul. In the Kohat district the Khat- 
tak and Bangash clans are Pathan, so that Pathans 
are found on both sides of the border. 

The Ghilzai is reckoned as a Pathan, and he is 
also connected with the Afghan. Nevertheless his 
origin is distinct; he claims only ties of faith and 
afiinity of language with other Afghan peoples. The 
Ghilzai rank collectively as second to none in mili- 
tary strength and in commercial enterprise ; further, 
their chiefs take a leading part in the politics of the 
country, possessing much influence at Kabul. They 
are a fine, manly race of people, and it is from some 
of their most influential clans (Suliman Khel, Nasir 
Khel, Kharotis, etc.) that the main body of Povin- 
dah merchants is derived. These frontier commer- 
cial travellers trade between Ghazni and the plains of 
India, bringing down their heavily laden khafilas at 

220, 



PROVINCES AND RACES 

the commencement of the cold weather and retiring 
again to the hills ere the summer heat sets in. Dur- 
ing the winter months thousands of them circulate 
through the farthest districts of the peninsula, where 
it not infrequently happens that they prove to be 
troublesome, if not dangerous, visitors. 

Underlying the predominant Afghan and Ghilzai 
elements in Afghan ethnography, there is the Tajik, 
who, representing the original Persian possessors 
of the soil, still speaks his mother tongue. There 
are pure Persians in Afghanistan, such as the Kizil 
Bashis of Kabul and the Naoshirwans of Kharan. 
The Tajiks are the cultivators in the rural districts; 
the shop-keepers and clerks in the towns; while 
they are slaves of the Pathan in Afghanistan no less 
than the Hindkis are in the plains of the Indus. 

Next in importance to the Tajik is the Mongol 
Hazara, who speaks a dialect of Persian and belongs 
to the Shiah sect of Mohammedans. The Hazaras 
occupy the highlands of the upper Helmund Valley, 
spreading through the country between Kabul and 
Herat, as well as into a strip of territory on the 
frontier slopes of the Hindu Kush. In the western 
provinces they are known as Hazaras, Jamshidis, 
Taimanis, and Ferozkhois; in other districts they 
are distinguished by the name of the territory which 
they occupy. They are pure Mongols; intermixing 
with no other races, preserving their language and 
their Mongol characteristics, they are uninfluenced 
by their surroundings. 

In Afghan Turkestan the Tajik is allied with the 

221 



AFGHANISTAN 

Uzbeg and Turkoman; the chief Turkoman tribes 
left to Afghan rule being the Alieli of the Daolata- 
bad-Andkhur districts and the Ersaris of the Khwaja 
Salar section of the Oxus frontier. Originally rob- 
bers and raiders, they have now beaten their swords 
into ploughshares and concern themselves with agri- 
cultural pursuits. 

Thus while there is an Afghan race almost identical 
in physical type, speech, religion, and culture, there 
is none possessing a distinct sense of its unity, with 
common political sentiments and aspirations. The 
Duranis, the Ghilzais, the Waziris, the Afridis, the 
Mongols, Mohmands, Jusafzais, and others form 
many different communities within the State. Each 
possesses separate interests, although Ahmed Shah 
Durani endeavoured to give a national importance 
to his tribe, not only by changing its name from 
Abdali to Durani, but also by associating with it 
other sections — the Jusufzais, Mohmands, Afridis, 
Shinwaris, Orakzais, and Turkolanis — under the 
common designation of Bar-Duranis. The attempt 
failed, and these sections still retain their tribal in- 
tegrity, declining to be fused together; so that, while 
the peoples of Afghanistan have lost their indepen- 
dence, it cannot be said that they have not preserved 
their individuality. 



CHAPTER XIV 

ADMINISTRATION, LAWS, AND REVENUE 

THE task which presented itself to Abdur Rah- 
man upon his accession to the throne was 
of such magnitude that few Asiatic poten- 
tates would have ventured to cope with it. The 
gravest confusion prevailed in every department of 
political, civil, and military administration, while the 
supremacy of the Amir of Kabul received no very 
definite recognition from the Sirdars who were ruling 
over the several tribes which together made up the 
State. Under Dost Mohammed, as also in the reign 
of Shir Ali, the Sirdars, jealous, ambitious, and tur- 
bulent, governed in their respective districts each 
after his own fashion. The controlling authority of 
the Amir of Kabul was not infrequently defied; and 
as no community of interests existed between Kabul 
and the khanates there was no enduring form of gov- 
ernment. Everything depended upon the pleasure of 
chiefs who, regulated by no law, were always ready 
to indulge in hostilities for their own gratification. 
The results of such a system of government are illus- 
trated by the civil war of 1863-1869, which distin- 
guished the early years of Shir All's reign, the final 
triumph of that ruler securing the paramountcy of 



AFGHANISTAN 

the Amir of Kabul throughout Afghanistan. While 
Shir Ali founded a certain despotic sovereignty over 
Afghanistan, it was Abdur Rahman who, by estab- 
lishing a military autocracy, guaranteed the absolu- 
tism of the Amir. The continuation of such a form 
of government is possible only so long as the Amir is 
able to rely upon the unswerving loyalty of his troops. 
But until the moment of disunion arrives the ruler of 
Afghanistan is a dictator, whose absolute authority 
is limited only by the calculations which prudence 
dictates. Religion is the one counterpoise to his 
authority, and the growing influence of the priests — 
an influence which has increased decidedly since the 
accession of Habib UUah — represents the sole quar- 
ter from which might arise disturbing elements. 

Under Abdur Rahman the power of the priests 
was held in check; his rugged independence did not 
permit him to brook, even covertly, the exercise of 
priestly authority. The church restrained, he was 
able to proceed with the work of curtailing the rights 
and privileges of the chiefs who, at one and the same 
time, had been a source of strength or of danger to 
his predecessors. Prompt to defend the authority 
of the Amir of Kabul when relations were cemented 
by a good understanding, and accustomed to a certain 
degree to participate in the affairs of government, 
the tribal chiefs refused to resign any measure of 
their authority when such action threatened to pre- 
cipitate the disappearance of their powers. Dost 
Mohammed did not attempt to interfere with the 
Sirdars; Shir Ali introduced into their position no 

224 



LAWS AND REVENUE 

perceptible modification. The tribal system was in 
full swing at the time when Abdur Rahman ascended 
the throne. At that moment each tribe, together 
with its sub-divisions, according to its numerical 
force and territorial dimensions, supported one or 
more of the reigning chiefs. These leaders, whose 
existence may be compared with that enjoyed by 
the dukes and barons of the Middle Ages in France, 
occupied so great a position in the State that the 
enlistment of their services upon behalf of the throne 
carried with it a weight always sufficient to main- 
tain the balance of the scales in favour of the ruler of 
Kabul. Nevertheless, in order to fortify his own 
position, Abdur Rahman decided to suppress them. 
One by one they were brought under subjection, the 
gradual circumscription of their authority paving 
the way to the subsequent solidarity which distin- 
guished his own position. From this step he pro- 
ceeded to fasten upon the remains of the old system 
a new administration, purging the Augean stable 
and curbing the rights of the chiefs no less than the 
license of the individual. 

Hitherto in Afghanistan freedom of movement 
had been permitted. There was nothing to prevent 
the entire population of a village from crossing the 
border if the majority of its elders were so inclined. 
Abdur Rahman checked this liberty, instituting a 
system which allowed none but the authorised to 
move between the great centres of the country or to 
venture beyond its frontiers. It is not to be sup- 
posed that he was able to maintain free from abuse 

225 



AFGHANISTAN 

his new order of government. Spoliation and embez- 
zlement had existed so long in Afghanistan that 
recourse to them had become second nature to every 
functionary. Each official, whether he were the prod- 
uct of the new order or a remnant of the old, was 
corrupt and regarded abuse of office as the customary 
symbol of administrative power. The existence of 
such a practice necessarily threw into confusion any 
attempt at reform; and, although Abdur Rahman 
produced much elaborate machinery, departmental 
disorders continued unabated. In Kabul, in spite 
of many high-sounding titles, the methods of the new 
order were still regulated by the principles of the old. 

To the ignorant or to the zealous this condition 
of affairs may perhaps be disappointing; but in any 
Oriental government the first and only thought of 
the official classes is the enhancement of their own 
interests and the enrichment of their private coffers. 
Abdur Rahman put a stop to the sale of public offices, 
but he could not control the disbursement and accept- 
ance of bribes by which such offices can be awarded; 
and, from the highest to the lowest, while success 
favours the delinquent, his crime attracts no atten- 
tion so long as he may distribute his favours. Even 
under Abdur Rahman it was rarely that officials of 
importance were brought to book, while to-day the 
Throne itself visits the avaricious by exacting the 
repletion of its privy purse at the expense of justice. 

It is of course to the credit of Abdur Rahman that 
he began his task at the beginning. At the time 
of his succession the system of government was so 

" 226 



LAWS AND REVENUE 

involved that the entire machinery of the civil admin- 
istration was carried on by a staff of ten clerks, who 
were controlled by an official combining within him- 
self the functions of every executive officer. There 
were no public offices and the seat of government 
was the bed-room of this man. There were no books ; 
the statements of expenditure and the records of 
Government business were entered upon small slips 
of paper, 8 inches long and 6 inches wide, each 
sheet containing the briefest abstract of the matter 
with which it was concerned. If any reference were 
required it frequently happened that thousands of 
these pages had to be examined. In order to remedy 
this system of keeping records Abdur Rahman intro- 
duced ledgers and record books, the defacement of 
which was an offence punishable by the amputation 
of the fingers. From this, in due course, he pro- 
ceeded to create a military and civil administration. 
Under military administration, in addition to the 
armed forces of the army, militia, and levies, he 
included the departments concerned with the manu- 
facture of every variety of war material and the 
industries associated with each. All workmen em- 
ployed in these concerns and all foreigners whose 
services were retained by the Government were 
brought within the supervision of the military bu- 
reau. Upon the military side, too, he arranged that 
pay-sheets should be honoured monthly, while treas- 
ury disbursements, which were incorporated in the 
revenue branch of the civil department, were made 
annually or, in certain exceptions, bi-yearly. 

227 



(^ 



AFGHANISTAN 



The civil administration, as ordained by Abdur 
Rahman, still continues. It embraces the Boards 
of Treasury and Trade, the Bureaux of Justice and 
Police, the Offices of Records, Public Works, Posts, 
and Communications. The Departments of Educa- 
tion and Medicine are a separate organisation. The 
Board of Treasury is divided into four departments 
of Revenue and Expenditure — northern, southern, 
eastern, and western — in connection with which 
there are the State Treasury and the Private Treas- 
ury. The State Treasury is controlled by the State 
Treasurer and the Councillors of the Exchequer, who 
render accounts to an Accountant-General. State- 
ments of revenue and expenditure are receipted daily 
and every evening an abstract, showing the trans- 
actions of the day and countersigned by the heads 
of the departments concerned, is submitted to the 
Amir. The Private Treasury is occupied solely 
with the income and monies of the Royal Family. 
Each Treasury is divided into two branches, the 
one being set aside for payments in cash and the 
other for the reception of transactions in kind. 
The Board of Trade includes the Caravan De- 
partment and the Customs House Department. 
Branches of these are established in the larger 
centres and appeals from them pass through the 
chief bureau in Kabul, where they are referred to 
the office of the Financial Commissioner, Mirza 
Shah Beg Khan, for presentation to the Amir when 
the necessity arises. 

Government is conducted through the agency of 

228 



LAWS AND REVENUE 

a Supreme Council and a General Assembly drawn 
from three classes. At present these are certain Sir- 
dars who take their seats as members of the Royal 
Clan; the Khans, who are representatives of the coun- 
try ; and the Mullahs, who are the representatives of 
the Mohammedan religion. Abdur Rahman mod- 
ified in some degree the rights and privileges of the 
Sirdars in connection with the Royal Durbars; now- 
adays only those who are the descendants of the 
Amir Dost Mohammed Khan and his brothers, or 
who have received the specific sanction of the Throne 
to bear the title, may occupy a place at them. These ^ 
three classes are divided into two parties. One of 
them is known as the Durbar Shahi or the Supreme 
Council; the other is called the Khawanin Mulkhi or 
General Assembly. These representatives are con- 
voked by a call from the Aishak Akasee, whose posi- 
tion resembles that held by the Lord Chamberlain 
in England. It is his duty to summon all the mem- 
bers of the Supreme Council and to arrange their 
seats according to the order of their merit. He has 
another subordinate officer, who is called Omla Bashi, 
who notifies the General Assembly and takes a receipt 
for the delivery of the notices of meeting. On their 
arrival outside the Durbar Hall councillors are re- 
ceived at the gate by another officer, called Kabchi 
Bashi, who is a deputy of the Aishak Akasee. The 
Kabchi Bashi introduces members of the General 
Assembly to the Aishak Akasee. 

Upon the attendance of these three- Estates of the 
Realm the Amir reads a proclamation or makes a 

229 



AFGHANISTAN 

speech on the subjects which are claiming the atten- 
tion of the meeting and at the same time asks their 
opinion. This usually results in the expression of 
the same views as those held by the Amir, as this 
assembly has neither the capacity nor the courage to 
detect anything wrong in the law or policy of their 
sovereign. Another mode of introducing an altera- 
tion of the law is that some member or members of 
this assembly may lay a petition before the Amir, to 
which sanction may be given. The most important 
factor in securing any change consists in the daily 
reports from the magistrates, the governors, the 
ecclesiastical and criminal courts, the revenue depart- 
ment, and other ofl&ces of the Government, who for- 
ward their decisions for approval and sanction, or 
send in their petitions or the petitions of tribes in 
the country requesting the Amir to sign a new ordi- 
nance. If the Amir forms a favourable opinion upon 
these documents they are enrolled in the Record 
Office of the Government. 

The Amir's Supreme Council or Cabinet differs 
from the English Cabinet in that there is no Prime 
Minister and that the Cabinet cannot give any 
advice to the Crown without being asked to do so. 
The Amir is seldom absent from his Council, but its 
assemblage simply depends on the pleasure of the 
Crown. If the presence of any member is unpopu- 
lar in the country, the people have the power to 
protest against it. 

The following officials constitute the Cabinet:^ the 

* " Laws and Constitution of Afghanistan." Sultan Mohammed Khan. 

230 



LAWS AND REVENUE 

Aishak Akasee; Lord of the Seal; Chief Secretary and 
several other secretaries; the military officials of the 
body-guard; Lord Treasurer of the private treasury 
of the Sovereign; Secretary of State for War; Secre- 
taries of State for the North, South, East, and West; 
Postmaster-General; Commander-in-Chief or his dep- 
uty; Master of the Horse; Kotwal or Home Sec- 
retary; Quartermaster-General; Accountant-General; 
Groom of the Bed-chamber; Superintendent of the 
Magazines; Heads of the Board of Trade and of 
the Board of Education. In addition there are 
sometimes those other officials or chiefs who may 
be sufficiently in the confidence of the Amir to be 
admitted to the meetings. 

The following division of business is usually 
observed: Monday and Thursday are devoted to 
postal despatches and to the Exchequer; Tuesday 
is set aside for consideration of military cases and 
the affairs of the War Office; Wednesday is devoted 
to the affairs of the whole kingdom when public as 
well as private Durbars are held; Friday is observed 
as a religious holiday; on Saturday the Amir sits as a 
Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Justice; Sun- 
day is devoted to the inspection of the army, maga- 
zines, war materials, manufactories, industries, and 
various miscellaneous matters. 

The laws of Afghanistan at the present day may 
be placed under three headings: 

(1) Islamic laws. 

(2) Those created by the Amir, which are based 
upon Islamic laws, the opinions of the people, and 

231 



AFGHANISTAN 

the personal views of Habib UUah as well as of his 
father, the late Amir. 

(3) Tribal laws. 

In criminal, revenue, and political law the pro- 
cedure was devised by Abdur Rahman; but for the 
rest. Islamic law is the general practice. The cases 
decided by the Amir himself are brought under two 
headings : 

Firstly, he sits as a Supreme Court of Appeal, in 
which capacity he hears and decides the appeals 
from all the various courts, whether civil, criminal, 
or ecclesiastical. 

Secondly, there are some cases which he hears 
himself from the beginning and decides himself, just 
as do the inferior courts. 

Commonly it is understood that when the Amir 
sits as an original court to hear cases which are not 
appeals from any other court, such cases must be of 
great importance: such as political disputes, cases of 
high treason, offences against the Throne, and mat- 
ters of Government revenue. This is merely a the- 
ory, since any person who has even a trifling matter 
in dispute can have his case decided by the Amir 
himself if he fears that the subordinate court is 
prejudiced; or if he chooses for any other reason to 
go before the Amir in preference to going before the 
subordinate courts. It is in the pleasure of the 
Crown to refer such a plaintiff to the subordinate 
courts unless the plaintiff can prove that he has 
reason to believe that justice would not be equally 
meted out in such a court. 



LAWS AND REVENUE 

The rule of Appeal, unlike that of England, is that 
the superior court, instead of being satisfied with 
the investigation of the subordinate court, takes the 
ease as if it were a new one. New evidence, fresh 
inquiries, and investigations are made from the very 
beginning, as though the case had never previously 
been tried. 

(1) Appeals: These are brought before the Amir 
in the following ways : 

Firstly, the various courts forward for his ap- 
proval such judgments as they consider of great 
importance and do not like to take upon them- 
selves the responsibility of deciding. 

Secondly, the same courts forward to the Amir 
for his opinion questions on which there is no defi- 
nitely laid down law by which to abide. 

Thirdly, in cases where the spies of the Amir, who 
are supposed to be everywhere, report to him that 
some kind of fraud or partiality had been shown in a 
decision. 

Fourthly, where a plaintiff or defendant is dis- 
satisfied with the judgment of any court he can 
appeal to the Amir. 

(2) Court of First Instance: Occasionally the 
Amir sits as a Court of First Instance, when it is per- 
mitted to all persons to approach him with grievances, 
disputes, or claims as they would any other magis- 
trate. Whether it is an appeal or an original case, 
the modes of trial in civil law are the same. The 
plaintiff brings his witnesses with him, if it is neces- 
sary to have any witness at all, and the defendant 

233 



AFGHANISTAN 

brings his witnesses also. Both sides are heard and 
the case is decided upon the spot, the inordinate 
delay which distinguishes judicial procedure in Eng- 
land being avoided. 

The various codes of law are so numerous that they 
would fill at least a dozen bulky volumes. Every 
ofiicial, the holders of all offices, great or small, in 
Afghanistan has a manual signed or sealed by the 
Amir, on which he acts. Instructions are so minute, 
moreover, that it is a common saying in Afghanistan 
that there is not a donkey-driver in the country who 
does not possess a signature of the Amir to some doc- 
ument giving him the law which he is to obey. All 
classes are amenable to the law, and in theory there 
is no exemption or special laws — not even for the 
nearest relative of the Amir, as was once proved 
when a favourite wife of the late Abdur Rahman 
was ordered by him to answer in the courts to the 
summons of a firm of Parsee milliners. Judicial cor- 
ruption, however, makes evasion of the law neither 
difficult nor infrequent, and bribery is the cause of 
a general miscarriage of justice. 

The condition of the Criminal Law is singularly 
barbarous; and no attempt, even upon paper or in 
theory, has been made to mitigate its crude severity. 
There is no fixed limit for the various punishments, 
and, although sentences of death need to be confirmed 
by the Amir, torture is invariably applied in all cases 
of criminal procedure. The instrument more gen- 
erally used is known as the Fanah, a contrivance not 
unlike the "boot." There are many things in the 

234 



LAWSAND REVENUE 

Afghan code which are susceptible of improvement, 
for the whim of the Amir is law, and, at best, he is 
no better than an amiable despot whose caprice de- 
mands immediate realisation. In this, Afghanistan 
is far removed from the condition of the native 
States of India and the territories of Bokhara, 
where, if justice is also tempered with bribery and 
corruption, life is at least respected until the inno- 
cent are proved to be guilty. Not so in the Amir's 
country,^ where men are still blown from guns and 
penalties of equal brutality exacted for compara- 
tively trivial offences. 

Illustrations of the harshness of the law abound in 
Kabul itself. It is a common spectacle to see pris- 
oners, their ankles encircled by steel bands, which 
are connected by a rod to a chain round their waists, 
sitting by the wayside asking alms of passers-by. 
Under the conditions which prevail in the Kabul 
prisons, unless the inmates have money or friends 
who will interest themselves in their plight, they 
are thrown upon the charity of the public for 
their means of subsistence. Government provides 
nothing for them but bread and prison quarters, 
where, chained and under close observation, they 
lead a life of endless misery. Justice, too, is very 
slow-footed and expedition is impossible until the 
officers of the court, whose duty it is to bring cases- 
in-waiting to the notice of the judge, have first been 
bribed. Heavy tolls are levied by all officials for this 
service and, if the payments are not forthcoming, 
the trial may never take place or it may be pro- 

235 



AFGHANISTAN 

traded through several years. Even then, when 
prisoners have been tried, their sentences pronounced, 
and they are at the conclusion of their terms of 
imprisonment, the rental charges for their use of the 
prisons have still to be met. The system is iniqui- 
tous and imposes upon poor captives the alternative 
of perpetual slavery, or the necessity to cry for alms 
in the streets as they go to and from their work. 
Employment in the workshops, the ordnance yards, 
and upon the Government buildings is the only de- 
scription of labour with which the prisoners are fur- 
nished. In a measure such work is popular among 
them, as it affords opportunities for discussion with 
their friends and gives them for a brief space some- 
what greater liberty of movement. Their tasks are 
of the hardest and roughest description, but they 
have a chance to wash their clothes — even to take 
a bath in the canal which runs through the factories. 
Sometimes, too, regular workmen distribute their 
food among the prisoners or even present them 
with a few 'pice. But at all times their fate is terrible 
and their existence in prison accompanied by extreme 
privations. Again, if death is the order of their lot, 
it is impossible to say whether it will be short, sharp, 
and sudden, or something a little lingering like the 
ends which befell a robber, and an over-zealous stu- 
dent of political affairs, of whom Abdur Rahman 
made such terrible examples. 

The robber, the leader of a band of brigands 
whose exploits and activity had won for the Lata 
Bund Devan an unenviable notoriety, was captured 

236 



LAWS AND REVENUE 

by the police after many attempts and repeated 
warnings. The Amir, who had become exasperated 
at the robberies of the band, determined to make a 
fitting example of their leader. Upon the summit 
of the Lata Bund Pass, 8000 feet above sea-level, 
he erected a flag-staff; from this he suspended an 
iron cage and in the cage he placed the robber — 
where he left him, as an example! It is said in 
Kabul that the fate of that highwayman determined 
the end of the robber band. Certainly since that 
day no further crimes of violence have been com- 
mitted in the pass. 

The other was a student who, brought before 
Abdur Rahman, declared in a state of unrepressed 
excitement that the Russians were advancing to 
invade Afghanistan. 

"The Russians are coming?" said the Amir with 
grim deliberation; "then you shall be taken to the 
summit of yonder tower and shall have no food till 
you see them arrive." 

The theory of justice in all Eastern countries aims 
at punishing some one person for every indictable 
misdemeanour. In China, in Japan, in Korea, and 
in Africa, too, the autocrat measures the peace of the 
country-side by the moral effect of his standard of 
punishment. No crime escapes its levy against the 
liberty of the subject, although the criminal himself 
may abscond. A precisely similar state of affairs 
prevails in Afghanistan where, in the event of the 
offender escaping, the hostage satisfies the findings 
of the law. Liberty of movement, therefore, is 

237 



AFGHANISTAN 

denied to every one in Kabul beyond a six-mile radius 
measured from the Kabul police station. For per- 
mission to go beyond this point it is necessary to 
obtain at a cost of three rupees a rahdari or road- 
pass, and to leave Afghanistan without such a pass 
is punishable with death. In point of fact, facilities 
are never granted until hostages against the failure 
of the person to return have been given. In the 
case of any one venturing to leave Afghanistan and 
failing to come back, his property is at once confis- 
cated, his family is imprisoned, and his more imme- 
diate surety is executed. Such a fate befell the 
family of a soldier who was making a protracted stay 
in India. Arrested and threatened with execution, 
their release was secured only by the man's return 
and surrender, knowing when he did so that he 
would be blown from a gun on the place of execu- 
tion. This was ultimately his fate. It is one so 
constantly meted out to prisoners that, whenever 
the boom of the gun is heard in Kabul, only those 
who are of the sternest disposition can suppress the 
sigh which involuntarily escapes as the mournful 
sound falls upon the ears. There are, of course, 
other ways of punishing the guilty than that of 
blowing them from cannon. Yet the boom of a gun 
in Kabul only denotes one of three things : the pass- 
ing of the Amir, the mid-day hour, and the release 
of a soul to Paradise from the horrors of the Kabul 
prisons. 

In the city of Kabul the Amir does not give the 
enemies of law and order a chance. The chief mag- 



LAWS AND REVENUE 

istrate has become an object of public execration 
and wholesome dread. His spies are believed to be 
everywhere; and hardly a word can be spoken with- 
out its coming to the ears of the Naib Kotwal and 
through him to the Amir himself. The Kabul police 
code is curiously elaborate. It forbids evil speaking 
in the streets. The vituperation of a Said (a reputed 
descendant of the prophet Mohammed through his 
daughter Fatima), of a man of learning, or of a civic 
elder renders the offender liable to twenty lashes and 
a fine of fifty rupees. If the bad language is only 
aimed at a common person ten lashes with a fine of 
ten rupees is the penalty provided. Punishments 
are also laid down for dishonest tradesmen who cheat 
with false weights or adulterate the food they sell, 
for the indecorous bather, the gambler, the purveyor 
of charms; as also for persons who misbehave in the 
mosque, forget to say their prayers, or to observe a 
fast day. The man who kisses some one else's wife 
receives thirty lashes and is sent to prison for further 
inquiry. 

Careful directions are laid down in regard to admin- 
istering the lash. The instrument itself is made of 
three strips of camel, cow, and sheep skin, with a 
handle of olive wood. The stripes are laid on with 
pious ejaculations and the police officer is exhorted to 
feel, if he cannot show, sorrow for the wrong-doer, 
"since Mohammedans are all of one flesh." Spe- 
cial cognisance is taken of offences against religion. 
If any free-thinking Kabuli omits to bend his head 
with due reverence at the hour of prayer the police 

239 



AFGHANISTAN 

officer must at first remonstrate gently. If the mild 
appeal fails, he must use harsh terms, such as "O 
foolish, O stupid one." In the event of continued 
obstinacy the stick is to be applied; and, as a last 
resource, the Amir is to be informed. He — "will 
do the rest." 

The departments for the administration of the 
Government in the provinces are as follows: 

(1) The Governor-General, the Governor together 
with the Secretaries and Staffs. 

Strictly speaking, there are no positive restrictions 
limiting and separating the authority of any one 
official from that of another. Cases go before any 
court to which the applicant may choose to take 
them. As a rule the Governor-General of the prov- 
ince is the executive head of all departments within 
his sphere and he is looked upon as a Court of Appeal 
from the District Courts, which are presided over 
by the District Governor or his subordinate officials. 
The main duty of the Governor-General is to col- 
lect the revenues from the land-owners and to admin- 
ister the province; of the District Governor, to settle 
the disputes of land-owners, to keep the peace in his 
district, to circulate the Kabul proclamations, and to 
forward from time to time any orders which he may 
receive from his provincial heads. The chief prov- 
inces are administered by Governor-Generals, the 
more important centres by Governors and the smaller 
places by District Governors, District Superinten- 
dents, and Inspectors. Commanders-in-Chief are 
associated with the Governors-General of proviuces^ 

240 



LAWS AND REVENUE 

and military officers of corresponding subordinate 
rank assist the civilian officials. Governors, exer- 
cising full executive powers locally, report to their 
Governors-in-Chief, who, in turn, despatch a monthly 
report to Kabul. 

(2) The Kazi (Judge of the Ecclesiastical Court) 
with his subordinate. 

^The Ecclesiastical Court of the Kazi is looked 
upon as the highest tribunal in the province and 
hence it is not limited to religious subjects; all civil 
cases, whatever their nature, may be taken before it. 
Generally speaking, business differences and religious 
disputes are settled in the District Courts, cases con- 
cerning divorce, marriage, and inheritance passing 
before the Provincial Supreme Court. Cases pun- 
ishable by death seldom come within the jurisdiction 
of the provincial courts. The Chief Judge of this 
court is called Kazi and his subordinates are Muftis. 
Cases are decided by a majority. 

(3) The Kotwal (Head of the Police Department) 
together with the force of Police, Secretary, and the 
officials of the Passport Department. 

The Kotwal exercises much greater authority in 
criminal cases than any other criminal official what- 
ever. He combines the duties of a District Chief of 
Police and a judge of Petty Sessions, while he may 
determine small criminal cases, forwarding the more 
serious to the capital. He is also in charge of the local 
Intelligence Department and is in each centre an offi- 
cial of whose tyranny, oppression, and cruelty stories 
and poems have been handed down from posterity. 

Ml 



AFGHANISTAN 

(4) Kafila Bashi (an official of the Caravan De- 
partment) with a Board of Commerce, a Revenue 
Office, Tax-Collector's Office, Treasury Office, and 
a local military force. . 

The Kafila Bashi is an official who supplies trans- 
port to travellers ; in this respect he is responsible for 
the payment of all dues by travellers, as well as for 
the treatment dealt out to the caravan followers. 
He receives his commission from those who hire the 
animals and renders an account of every transaction 
to the Government. All expenses of this establish- 
ment are paid by the Government and the balance 
passes into the District Treasury. 

The Board of Commerce settles disputes between 
merchants. The President of the Board presides 
over this court and its members are elected from 
among the mercantile community, irrespective of 
religion. 

The Revenue Office settles the accounts of the 
revenue and keeps a record of the taxes which every 
land-owner must pay annually to the Government. 
The land revenue is now fixed at one-third of the 
produce of the soil and is to be collected by the lam- 
bardar of each village. Associated with the Revenue 
Office are officers who register and copy all docu- 
ments issued in connection with the collection and 
expenditure of revenue. Duties upon commerce are 
levied at the rate of two and one-half per cent, upon 
all exports and imports, all such monies passing 
direct into the local treasury. 

Abdur Rahman gave his closest attention to the 

242 



LAWS AND REVENUE 

revenue. One of his earliest acts was to replace by 
tokens of his own the currency which had existed 
under the Khans. Hitherto the money in circulation 
in Afghanistan had been represented by three varie- 
ties of rupees — the Herat, the Kandahar, and the 
Kabul which, although not really of identical value, 
were reckoned at ten shahis. No gold tokens had 
been struck by any of the dynasties reigning in the 
State, and the gold coins which passed in the country 
were represented by the ducat of Russia, the tilla of 
Bokhara, and the toman of Persia. These coins had 
been imported in the natural course of trade; but by 
a strange coincidence the Persian token suffered a 
discoimt, while the Russian and Bokharan coins 
enjoyed a premium of ten per cent. There were cer- 
tain silver coins, also, which had been introduced by 
merchants from beyond the borders. Among these 
were the silver kran from Persia and the silver rupee 
from India, equally liable to the vagaries of exchange. 

In order to re-establish the currency of the coun- 
try upon a sound basis Abdur Rahman opened a 
mint in Kabul. At the same time he reorganised 
the methods of revenue collection, besides improv- 
ing the channels through which it was received. 

The work of the mint was at first conducted by 
hand. It was not until some years after he had 
ascended the throne that the late Amir introduced 
minting machinery, at the same time requesting the 
Government of India to loan the services of an 
Englishman to superintend its erection. The official 
thus despatched was Mr. McDermot, employed in 

243 



AFGHANISTAN 

the Calcutta mint; and under his supervision Kabuli 
workmen learnt to cut the dies, to erect the stamps, 
and to strike off the coins. The capacity of the plant 
which was erected in Kabul was limited to a silver 
and copper mintage of 100,000 coins a day, made 
up of five and ten pice pieces, rupees, half-rupees, 
and third-rupees. In contradistinction to the rupees 
which had previously been struck off at Kabul, each 
new rupee was worth only one shilling. These coins 
bore upon their faces the inscription — a translation 
of a title conferred upon Abdur Rahman by his 
people in 1896 — "The Light of the Nation and of 
Religion"; the reverse side bore his coat-of-arms. 
Until this superscription was adopted, coins were 
engraved only with the date and place of casting 
upon one side, and upon the reverse the name of the 
ruler — "Cast at the Capital of Kabul: Amir Abdur 
Rahman." Since Habib Ullah's accession Abdur 
Rahman's coinage has been superseded by a new 
issue bearing in Turkish characters the inscription 
"Amir Habib Ullah Khan, Amir of Kabul, The 
Seeker of God's help." The engraving on the ob- 
verse represents a mosque with pulpit and minarets, 
encircled by rifles, standards, swords, and cannon. 
While the receipts of Afghan Turkestan were 
incorporated with these figures, the Herat territory 
was still an independent sphere and its income on 
that account is not included. A few years later, 
under Shir Ali, the revenue from all sources rose to 
£710,000; which, together with the very handsome 
subsidy annually paid by the Government of India, 

244 



LAWS AND REVENUE 

and if it had been assisted by a liberal fiscal policy 
under Abdur Rahman, well might have expanded 
to an annual income of one million sterling. 

Prior to their systematic collection under the 
arrangements which were devised by Abdur Rah- 
man, the monies of Afghanistan were obtained by 
an elaborate process of taxation, which, if not 
altogether excessive, was accompanied by much 
unauthorised exaction. Taxes were imposed upon 
all live stock, upon cultivated ground, upon all 
varieties of produce, upon houses, and upon cer- 
tain classes of the population, the apparent aim of 
the authorities, irrespective of their actual needs, 
being to extract as much as possible from their 
unhappy subjects. 

Under Abdur Rahman some little relief from the 
oppressive and arbitrary payments, which were 
extorted alike from the unfortunate merchant and 
the luckless cultivator, was secured; and, as he in- 
stilled a measure of reform into the practices of gov- 
ernment, certain sources of taxation were dropped 
and the burden resting upon industry and agricul- 
ture proportionately lightened. The principal means 
of income to the State now emanated from taxes 
which were levied upon cultivated lands and fruit- 
trees, export and import trade, customs, registration 
and postage fees (contracts, passport fees, marriage 
settlements, etc.), penalties under law, revenue from 
Government lands and shops. Government monop- 
olies and manufactures, mines and minerals (salt, 
rubies, gold, lapis-lazuli, coal) and the annual sub- 

M5 



AFGHANISTAN 

sidy of eighteen lakhs of rupees — these several 
branches of the State revenue gradually defining the 
limits of its present prosperity, which has been some- 
what further assisted by the benevolent, economic 
policy of the present Amir. Abuses in the collection 
of octroi have been remedied, certain taxes abolished, 
many mines developed, while, to give an impetus to 
trade in Afghanistan, Habib UUah has announced 
that, in future, traders may receive advances from 
the Kabul Treasury on proper security. This con- 
cession is greatly appreciated by the commercial com- 
munity, as it will enable them to escape the payment 
of interest to the Hindoo bankers from whom they 
have been in the habit of borrowing. Moreover, it 
is expected that if full effect is given to the Amir's 
wishes trade between India and Afghanistan will 
soon improve. The loans will be repayable by easy 
instalments, this novel scheme establishing a very 
important departure. 



246 



CHAPTER XV 

TRADE: INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTS: 

FOR many years prior to the reign of Abdur 
Rahman trade with Afghanistan itself or 
in transit to regions beyond the frontiers 
had to contend against two diflSculties, the one aris- 
ing from the heavy imposts upon goods intended for 
local consumption, and the other from the excessive 
charges levied upon merchandise destined for mar- 
kets beyond the Oxus. Under the Khans commerce 
struggled ineffectually against exactions which, if 
comprehensible during a period when the country 
was parcelled out among a number of reigning fam- 
ilies^ were directly inimical to its better interests as 
soon as the several territories became incorporated 
within one central administration. 

Under the rule of the khans and in the reign of 
Shir Ali, trade received no encouragement; while, 
if Abdur Rahman were the father of his people, there 
is no doubt that, judged by his domestic policy, he 
revealed a lack of foresight in fulfilling his parental 
obligations. If overweening vanity and ignorance 
contributed to the failure of Abdur Rahman's at- 
tempt to make Afghanistan a self-supporting State, 

U7 



AFGHANISTAN 

it can be pleaded for him, nevertheless, that it was 
his intention to help trade and industries which were 
indigenous to the country. To effect this, he abol- 
ished inter-provincial tolls, maintained the scale of 
rates which was levied upon caravans in transit to 
Trans-Oxus markets, increased the frontier duties in 
proportion to the loss which he sustained by with- 
drawing charges hitherto imposed within his domin- 
ions, and began various industrial works in the 
capital. 

Enamoured of his idea, he unfortunately omitted 
from consideration, besides a certain inadequacy of 
revenue, the overwhelming intolerance of his sub- 
jects to every form of labour. There was thus in 
Afghanistan itself, when six years after his accession 
to the throne the Amir embarked upon a campaign 
of commercial expansion, no reserve of capital behind 
the Government and no fund of energy in the people. 
In spite of the number of miscellaneous industries 
which he attempted in Kabul, no continuity of suc- 
cess was preserved, while reaction against his pen- 
alties upon Indian trade resulted in the opening up 
of the Quetta-Nushki-Nasratabad road as a com- 
mercial route. Direct loss of revenue, therefore, 
befell Abdur Rahman through his encouragement of 
a policy which was prejudicial to his own interests, 
as it was hostile to the trade of India and Russia. 
So far from profitable was the issue, indeed, that 
the position of the State at the close of his reign 
was in anything but a condition of comfortable 
prosperity. 

248 



INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTS 

Under pressure of financial difficulties arising from 
debts contracted by his father for the supply of mil- 
itary stores and equipment, the development of pub- 
lic works, and a host of minor obligations, Habib 
UUah was compelled to reconsider his economic posi- 
tion. Accepting the situation on its merits, dur- 
ing the first year of his reign he remitted certain 
duties and lowered the transit charges on "through" 
caravans, in respect of indigo and tea, to the equiv- 
alent of 2| per cent, ad valorem duty. This impost 
upon tea works out at the rate of 7 pies per pound, 
but the tax on tea intended for the markets of 
Afghanistan is much higher. This is returned at 
125 rupees per camel-load of 360 pounds, thereby 
levying a charge of 5 annas against each pound, 
which, although an exceedingly high rate, compares 
not unfavourably with the crushing customs dues 
on the Russian frontier and the tax in England. A 
revival of the demand in Afghanistan for tea grown in 
India has shown itself during the past year or two; 
and, undoubtedly, if the import duty were lowered 
the Afghans would become better customers, espe- 
cially for the green variety, which they most favour. 
If the Amir could be convinced that a smaller duty 
would involve no loss of revenue, owing to larger 
imports, a reduction of the tariff might possibly be 
sanctioned. 

On the whole the fiscal policy of the present Amir 
encourages the belief that, in time, many of the exist- 
ing obstacles to free commercial intercourse with 
India will be removed. The small benefits already 

M9 



AFGHANISTAN 

offered to Indian merchants have produced immediate 
response and the prospect of further concessions 
is widely appreciated. Trade exports from Kabul 
during 1904-1905 alone increased by 25 lakhs of ru- 
pees, the volume of trade proceeding from Kandahar 
showing an improvement no less emphatic. The 
total value of exports and imports combined, since 
indications of a more liberal fiscal policy first were 
manifested, in lakhs of rupees, is shown in the 
following table: 







1900-01 
Lakhs 


1901-02 
Lakhs 


1902-03 
Lakhs 


1903-04 

Lakhs 


1904-05 
Lakhs 


Southern and 


Western 












Afghanistan 




58.19 


68.54 


53.48 


68.02 


76.53 


Northern and 


Eastern 












Afghanistan 




48.01 


61.00 


63.99 


70.56 


95.36 



The values of the principal imports from Kabul 
during 1904-1905 were fruits and nuts, 7.9 lakhs; 
animals (horses, sheep, and goats), 4.4 lakhs; hides 
(including skins) and ghee, each about 2.5 lakhs, the 
total being 26 lakhs as in the previous year. Exports 
during 1904-1905 improved by 25 lakhs to 69.3 lakhs. 
Cattle, sheep, and goats accounted for 8.8 lakhs of 
this increase. Cotton fabrics, valued at 38.3 lakhs 
(more than two-thirds being of foreign manufacture), 
increased by 12.5 lakhs. The other principal articles 
were cotton yarn (mostly foreign), 3.2 lakhs, and 
leather, 2.5 lakhs. The exports of tea (nearly all 
green tea) were 397,265 pounds Indian, value 1.5 
lakhs, 300,384 pounds foreign, value 3.1 lakhs. 
Among imports from Kandahar during 1904-1905, 
valued at 40.2 lakhs, were raw wool, 18.8 lakhs; fruits 

250 



INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTS 

and nuts, 12.2 lakhs; and ghee, 2.6 lakhs, in all of 
which there has been a larger trade. The exports 
during 1904-1905 reached 36.3 lakhs, the two prin- 
cipal articles — Indian cottons, 14.7 lakhs, and foreign 
piece-goods, 10 lakhs — both showing an improve- 
ment. 

The general character of the trade conducted 
between Afghanistan and India is indicated by the 
appended list of the principal imports and exports 
with their values during the last three years in lakhs 
of rupees : 

EXPORTS FROM AFGHANISTAN 

1902-03 1903-04 1904-05 

Lakhs Lakhs Lakhs 

Cattle 31.31 23.61 33.29 

Other animals 36.66 24.41 38.38 

Drugs and medicines, including 

charas 24.01 23.98 20.72 

Fruits, vegetables, and nuts 37.69 28.59 31.01 

Grain and pulse (largely rice) 1.37.73 1.36.64 1.49.78 

Hides, skins, and horns 26.70 26.49 35.41 

Provisions: ghee 82.78 53.09 64.05 

Pickled tea 15.02 17.62 22.06 

Seeds (chiefly linseed and rape- 
seed) 53.28 39.97 34.80 

Silk 25.69 20.10 17.44 

Spices 13.86 20.25 17.17 

Wood and timber, chiefly teak 74.60 86.31 1.22.35 

Wool, raw 32.92 23.91 27.05 

Woollen goods 14.19 9.47 11.16 

IMPORTS INTO AFGHANISTAN 

1902-03 1903-04 1904-05 

Lakhs Lakhs Lakhs 

Cotton, raw 12.76 12.49 7.60 

Cotton yarn: 

Foreign 35.68 32.58 28.28 

Indian 26.11 25.63 33.30 

251 



1903-4 
Lakhs 


1904-5 
Lakhs 


1.55.28 


1.50.31 


52.60 


63.34 


18.65 


17.39 


25.27 


30.42 


11.34 


13.50 


20.49 


19.43 


31.42 


31.46 


9.54 


8.22 


16.76 


14.04 


25.04 


27.04 


11.73 


10.69 


10.16 


12.10 



AFGHANISTAN 



1902-3 

Cotton good Lakhs 

Foreign 1.78.57 

Indian 64.37 

Grain and pulse 10.35 

Metals, mainly brass, copper, and 

iron 33.10 

Oils 13.12 

Provisions 21.47 

Salt 43.14 

Silk goods 11.24 

Spices 16.69 

Sugar 32.20 

Tea 13.20 

Tobacco 12.82 



If India conducts with Afghanistan a trade which, 
although subject to fluctuations, enjoys considerable 
prosperity, the flow of commerce from the Trans- 
Oxus region towards the same markets is by no 
means contemptible. Indeed, articles imported into 
Afghanistan from Moscow, Merv, Bokhara, and 
Samarkand figure in every bazaar in the Herat and 
Afghan Turkestan Provinces. This trade passes 
through the customs stations of Kelif, Chushka 
Gusar, 40 miles to the east of Kelif, and Termes, 34 
miles to the east of Chushka Gusar, the former of 
which is the principal seat of Russian Customs on 
the middle Oxus. Trade between Afghanistan and 
Russia has never been altogether prohibited by the 
Kabul authorities, Abdur Rahaman permitting kafilas 
to travel by the routes on which he had established 
customs posts. On goods purchased in Russian ter- 
ritory by Afghan traders a rebate equal to the tax 
levied by the Amir's ofl&cials is granted. Further, 

252 



INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTS 

customs dues on goods imported from Afghanistan 
have been reduced by 50 per cent. Russian trade is 
therefore making rapid progress. The value of the 
goods which passed through the Russo-Afghan posts 
was £450,000 in 1902. To-day it probably exceeds 
half a million sterling. The import into Central 
Asia of goods from India has been strangled by the 
high customs tariff of the Russians, plus the heavy 
transit dues in Afghanistan itself. The agents of 
Russian firms at Kelif and Chushka Guzar state that 
they can now compete successfully with British In- 
dian trade in Northern Afghanistan owing to the 
comparative cheapness of transport from Europe, 
which means that the Trans-Caspian and Orenburg- 
Tashkent lines of railway are carrying Russian mer- 
chandise at specially low rates. Nonetheless the 
Russian traders complain of the Afghan transit dues, 
as their imposition causes delay on all the principal 
caravan routes and adds enormously to the trans- 
port charges. With the advantages which Russia 
now possesses, unless a determined effort is made to 
save the situation for the benefit of Indian trade, 
we may presently expect her to renew her efforts to 
open up direct relations with Kabul in order to 
obtain greater facilities for commerce. It may be, 
too, that it will be in this manner rather than by 
active aggression that she will seek to lessen British 
influence in Afghanistan, and even to raise compli- 
cations with the Amir. 
The principal Russian commodities are: 



253 



AFGHANISTAN 



ARTICLE 


Broadclotli. 


Glass-ware. 


Fine linens and calicoes. 


Cutlery. 


Silk goods. 


Loaf sugar 


Velvet. 


Pig iron. 


Chintzes. 


Steel ingots. 


Sewing thread and silk. 


Tin in plates. 


Gold and silver lace. 


Copper in plates. 


Gold and silver thread. 


Brass. 


Needles. 


Quicksilver. 


Steel and copper wire. 


Cochineal. 


Russia leather. 


Tea. 


Paper. 


Honey. 


China-ware. 


Wax, white and yellow. 



In silk, linen, and cotton goods the Russian fab- 
rics are quite equal to those articles of Anglo-Indian 
manufacture which find their way into the country. 
Russian chintzes are more durable and of coarser 
texture than the Anglo-Indian article; although less 
elegant in appearance and of colours that are not so 
fast, they meet with a ready sale among the poorer 
classes. The silk goods imported from Bokhara are 
of Russian manufacture, but they might well be 
superseded by better and cheaper importations from 
India. Silk handkerchiefs of various colours, and 
even black ones, are in great demand. Foreign silks 
do not sell so readily as certain lines in cotton and 
linen fabrics, since Kandahar, Herat, and Kabul pos- 
sess their own silk looms, each loom paying an annual 
tax of 23 rupees to the State. The articles manu- 
factured by the native looms are plain silks, called 
kanavaz; red, yellow, and purple durahee of slighter 
texture, less width, and of the same colours; suga 
khanmee of large and small widths, with perpendicu- 

254 



INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTS 

lar white lines on a red ground; dushmals or handker- 
chiefs, black and red, with white spots, bound by- 
females around their heads ; and broonghees hummam, 
for the bath. To meet the demands of the Kabul 
market, raw and spun silks are imported from Bok- 
hara, Kandahar, and Herat, but the great bulk of 
either variety required by the Kabul looms comes 
from districts in the Kabul Province. Velvets and 
satins are imported from both sides of the frontier; 
but wherever Indian or British goods meet the 
products of the Russian market in Afghanistan, the 
bounty-fed trade of Russia in Central Asia enjoys a 
conspicuous advantage. 

Certain imports from Russia and India suffer from 
competition with the Kabul-made product. In this 
respect the trade in gold and silver lace from 
Bokhara and India has fallen away very noticeably, 
although the quantity despatched from Bokhara 
still exceeds that imported from India. The trade 
in leather has also suffered by the development of 
local tanneries, but importations of the raw material 
are still necessary on account of the demands of the 
factory where the military equipment is made. 

The trade in paper comes almost solely from the 
Russian market and quantities are imported from 
across the Oxus. The paper is of foolscap size, of 
stout, inferior quality, and white or blue in colour. 
There are two assortments: glazed and unglazed. 
The blue, glazed variety is preferred, the unglazed 
kind usually being sized at Kabul. A busy trade 
in this commodity passes between Kabul and Kan- 

<^55 



AFGHANISTAN 

dahar, the Russian product having captured the 
market to the practical exchision of all other brands. 
The paper needs to be stout to allow facility of 
erasure; on this account, and with reference to the 
nature of the ink employed, glazed paper is most 
satisfactory. 

The attention of the people is directed to the land 
rather than to trade and a very large proportion of 
the population takes naturally to cultivation. Farm- 
ing is divided between the production of fruit and 
the growth of cereals. The Afghans are a fruit- 
loving people; in certain districts fruit, both in its 
fresh and preserved condition, forms the staple diet 
of a large section of the population throughout the 
year. A rapidly growing export in fresh and dried 
fruits exists with India. Indeed, so important has 
this industry become that, in the country round 
Kandahar, a marked increase in the number of 
orchards and fruit gardens has taken place within 
the last five years, the presence of the railway at 
New Chaman and its extension to Nushki making 
the exportation of fresh fruit not only practicable 
but profitable. Fruit farming is divided between 
orchard fruits, with which vegetable farming is 
usually combined, and those fruits which may be 
grown in fields on a large scale. In the one class 
are apples, pears, almonds, peaches, apricots, plums, 
cherries, grapes, figs, quinces, pomegranates, and 
mulberries, in addition to walnut, pistachio, the 
edible pine, and rhubarb, which grow wild in the 
northern and eastern highlands. Vegetable produce, 

256 



INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTS 

which holds a high position in the export trade, 
includes most domestic vegetables; while, of the 
uncultivated vegetable products, the castor-oil plant, 
the mustard, sesame, and assafoetida grow in great 
abundance. The fruit fields also produce several va- 
rieties of melons, including musk, water, and scented 
melons, cucumbers, and pumpkins. 

In the direction of cereal production there are two 
harvests. One, reaped in summer, is the result of 
an autumn sowing and includes wheat, barley, and 
certain varieties of peas and beans. The second 
harvest is gathered in autumn from a spring sowing, 
and embraces crops, rice, Indian corn, millet, arzun, 
and jowari, besides other grains of less importance. 
In addition to these cereals, crops of madder, tobacco, 
cotton, opium, hemp, clover, and lucerne are very 
generally cultivated. Clover and lucerne are pro- 
duced for fodder, hemp for its intoxicating prop- 
erties, and madder, tobacco,, cotton, and opium for 
export. In relation to the other crops, wheat is the 
food of the people, barley and jowari are given to 
horses, and arzun and Indian corn are grown for 
culinary purposes. 

The mineral wealth of Afghanistan is at present 
almost entirely undeveloped, the late Amir, Abdur 
Rahman, being possessed by an instinctive animus 
against company promoters and concession hunters. 
Habib UUah, too, has not yet made any sign of 
permitting the evident resources of the country to 
be exploited. The localities in which deposits are 
known to exist are shown in the accompanying table: 

257 



AFGHANISTAN 

MiNKBAL Locality 

Gold Laghman and adjoining districts. 

Silver Panjsliir Valley. 

Iron ore Bajaiu-, Permuli district, and Hindu Kush. 

Copper ore Various districts. 

Lead Upper Bangash, Shinwari country, Kakar 

country, and in neighbourhood of Herat. 
Lead with antimony At Argandab, in the Wardak Hills, Ghor- 

band Valley, Afridi country. 

Antimony Shah-Maksud. 

Silicate of zinc Zhob Valley. 

Sulphur Herat, Hazara country, Pirkisri. 

Sal-ammoniac Pirkisri. 

Gypsum Plain of Kandahar. 

Coal Zurmat, near Ghazni, Afghan Turkestan. 

Nitre South-western Afghanistan. 

Among the industries of Afghanistan, exclusive 
of the agricultural activities of a large section of 
the people, the production of silks, the manufacture 
of felts, postins, and rosaries, the cultivation of 
turmeric and ginger, and horse breeding occupy 
important positions. 

Silk is produced in considerable quantity at Kan- 
dahar, which is also the centre of other arts and 
crafts that afford occupation and support to numer- 
ous families. The quality of Kandahar silk is capa- 
ble of much improvement. The cocoons are small, 
of unequal size, and of different colours — yellow, 
white, and grey. The majority of the worms are 
reared in neighbouring villages, but principally in 
those along the Argand-ab, where also the mulberry 
trees are most abundant. The value of the mul- 
berry trees around Kandahar is estimated at several 
lakhs. The whole of the silk produced in the district 

258 



INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTS 

pays a tax to the Government, and its sale without 
permission is prohibited. 

The manufacture of sheepskin coats is an impor- 
tant industry which once made Kandahar Province 
its centre. Of late years the trade has so greatly 
increased, owing to the demands for this article from 
India, that other districts have devoted themselves 
to it with equal success. The leather is prepared 
and made up in Kandahar, Ghazni, and Kabul on 
an extended scale, thus giving occupation to many 
hundreds of families. The method of manufacture 
is not without interest. The dried, unshorn sheep- 
skin is immersed in running water until it is soft and 
pliant, while at the same time the wool is thoroughly 
washed with soap. After this the fleece is combed 
and the skin stretched on a board, when the inside 
surface is smeared with a thin paste, composed of 
equal parts of fine wheaten and rice flour, to which 
is added a small proportion of finely powdered salt. 
This dressing is renewed daily for five or six days, 
throughout which time the pelt is exposed to the sun. 
Before the conclusion of this process the skin is again 
cleansed, washed, and dried, after which all super- 
fluous growths are removed. The surface is then 
treated with a tanning mixture made of dried pome- 
granate rinds, powdered alum, red ochre, and sweet 
oil. After some days, when the requisite suppleness 
has been gained, this preparation is scraped off. 

In the western districts a mixture of alum and white 
clay is used in preference to the pomegranate rinds. 
In such cases the skins, when cured, are white and 

259 



AFGHANISTAN 

somewhat coarser to the touch than those prepared 
with pomegranate rinds. In the Kabul process the 
pomegranate rind is used most freely; as the Kabul 
skins are prepared with the greatest care, they are 
esteemed more than those of Ghazni and Kanda- 
har. Before the tanning is completed the skins are 
handed over to tailors who reduce them to strips of 
2 feet long by 4 or 5 inches wide, from which they 
make three varieties of coats. One class comprises 
small coats with short sleeves and requires only two 
or three skins; another description reaches to the 
knees and is furnished with full sleeves fitting close 
to the arm. This takes five or six pelts. A third 
pattern forms a large loose cloak of capacious dimen- 
sions extending from head to heel and furnished with 
long sleeves, very wide above the elbow and very 
narrow below it; it also projects several inches beyond 
the tips of the fingers. These require ten or twelve 
skins. Usually the edges and sleeves of the coats are 
embroidered with yellow silk. The completed arti- 
cles cost from one to fifty rupees, according to size 
and finish. They are well adapted to the climate 
of the country; except in exposure to rain, when they 
are reversed, the woolly side is worn next to the body. 
The full-length coat is a very cumbrous dress and is 
usually only worn in the house; it serves alike for 
bed, bedding, or as a cloak. The nature of the mate- 
rial favours the harbouring of insects, and few people 
are met whose coats do not serve as a breeding- 
ground for an immense colony of vermin. 
An industry of equal importance with the postin 

260 



INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTS 

trade is the manufacture of felts, which similarly 
centres in Kandahar. From there these goods are 
distributed throughout the country, besides being ex- 
ported to India, Persia, and the Trans-Oxus region. 

Rosaries are also extensively manufactured at 
Kandahar from soft crystallised silicate of magne- 
sia. This is quarried from a hill at Shah Maksud, 
about 30 miles north-west of the city, where soap- 
stone and antimony are also obtained in consider- 
able abundance. The stone varies in colour from 
a light yellow to a bluish white and is generally 
opaque. The most popular kind is straw-coloured 
and semi-transparent. A few specimens are of a 
mottled greenish colour, brown, or nearly black; 
they are used for the same purposes as the lighter 
varieties. Rosaries and charms of various sorts are 
made for exportation to Mecca. They range in price 
from a couple of annas to a hundred rupees. The 
refuse from the work is reduced to powder and util- 
ised by native physicians as a remedy for heartburn. 

It should be remembered that everything, whether 
solid or liquid, is sold by weight in Afghanistan. In 
cloth the conventional measure in the bazaar is from 
the top of the middle finger to the point of the elbow. 



261 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE ARMY 

PRIOR to the reign of Dost Mohammed the 
defensive power of Afghanistan was rep- 
resented by an association of tribes whose 
chieftains offered to the Amir of Kabul, as circum- 
stances dictated, a more or less willing service. Such 
a system, while making the promotion of any settled 
organisation impossible, was satisfactory only so long 
as the Amir of Kabul was able to rely upon the fidel- 
ity of the Khans. But in an order of government 
in which priority of place was secured by dint of 
might, each chief, as opportunity offered, rose to 
proclaim his independence of Kabul. By reason of 
these constant irruptions of disaffection among the 
tribes composing the confederacy, few rulers were in 
a better position than Dost Mohammed to realise 
the disabilities of such a military system. 

The forces over which he exerted complete con- 
trol were confined to the Kabul territory, although 
in addition he exercised nominal jurisdiction over 
the tribal levies of the khanates of Kandahar and 
Herat. These divisions of the available forces pre- 
sented the following effective establishment: 

262 



THE ARMY 

r 
KABUL KANDAHAB HERAT 
TERRITORY TERRITORY TERRITORY 

Mounted 21,000 12,000 12,000 

Dismounted 10,000 6,000 10,000 

Total 31,000 18,000 22,000 

At the moment, the fighting machine in Afghani- 
stan was composed of those tribal chiefs, district land- 
owners, and priests whose influence was sufficient 
to regulate the movement of any particular number 
of followers. At the first news of war the leaders of 
these several contingents hurried with their follow- 
ing to some central camp, the united strength con- 
stituting the army of the district ruler, although the 
component units of such a force owned allegiance to 
individual district chiefs rather than to any supreme 
authority. In addition to this combative force there 
was usually another body which, although not drawn 
from the best material and less numerous, was pos- 
sessed of greater experience than the main follow- 
ing. Composed of men who were attached to no 
individual leader, or made up of the numbers of 
some border ruffian, these auxiliaries participated in 
the operations for the purposes of loot and from pure 
love of war and bloodshed. In each case their weap- 
ons were of the crudest variety; very frequently the 
dismounted forces were armed solely with swords, 
spears, and shields, the horsemen carrying match- 
locks, flintlocks, or ancient pistols. Every one was 
compelled to furnish his own weapons, the mounted 
men being responsible for their horses. The militia 
held the lands on condition of service and were exempt 
from all taxes on land except the tithe. The men 

263 



AFGHANISTAN 

were born fighters and each, so soon as he could wield 
a spear or manage a fire-arm, attached himself to 
some district chief. No regular rate of pay was 
made by the leader to his following, who, if they 
failed to live upon their plunder, were indemnified 
by small grants of land, by the right of pasturage, 
and by permission to adopt a trade. Upon the part 
of the chief, too, as between himseK and the Khan 
of the territory, the scale of remuneration was never 
fixed, the sum varying according to his local influ- 
ence and the number of men he could bring into 
the field. This condition of affairs, typical of most 
Asiatic hordes at the time, had always prevailed 
in Afghanistan. The success against other native 
armies of such a system, wherein no precautions 
were observed and no knowledge of military opera- 
tions was required, was due to the great elan in 
attack of the Afghans and to their undoubted cour- 
age, more than to any preconceived notion of the 
art of war. 

In addition to the territories of Kandahar and 
Herat there was the State of Balkli, allied with but 
independent of Kabul and invested in Mohammed 
Afzul Khan. The army of Balkh was commanded 
by General Shir Mohammed EHian, an officer of the 
Anglo-Indian army of the name of Campbell, who 
had been captured by Dost Mohammed when he 
had defeated Shah Shu j ah at the battle of Kan- 
dahar. The influence of this man, who, professing 
the Mohammedan faith, rose to the position of 
Commander-in-Chief of the Balkh forces, was to 

264 



THE ARMY 

become a determining factor in the evolution of the 
army of Afghanistan from its tribal state. Love of 
war was always more pronounced in the Afghan 
tribes than among other Eastern races; and, as the 
profession of arms to them was in the nature of a 
trade, expectations of a quick response of course 
prompted the suggestions which Lieutenant Camp- 
bell made to the Amir of Balkh. While every credit 
must be given to the wisdom and foresight of Mo- 
hammed Afzul Khan, there is no doubt that the 
beginnings of the present military system of Afghan- 
istan were laid by this adventurous Englishman. 
Moreover, it was due to the influence which Camp- 
bell exercised over Abdur Rahman, the son of Mo- 
hammed Afzul Khan, which caused the former to 
become an ardent apostle of reform in military mat- 
ters when he succeeded to the throne. 

At the time of the elevation of Campbell to the 
supreme command of the army of Balkh, the forces 
in the territory were divided between a combined 
permanently enlisted body and a militia derived 
from Uzbeg, Durani, and Kabuli tribes. It num- 
bered 29,500 men, comprising: 

MOUNTED DISMOUNTED MILITIA 

7,000 7,500 15,000 

This force of fighting men, ill-organised and untu- 
tored, was deficient in central control, its condition 
not unnaturally reflecting the disorder actually in- 
herent in the system. Under Campbell's adminis- 
tration the masses of tribal levies were reduced to 
an organised basis which contained the elements of 

' 265 



AFGHANISTAN 

the present establishment. The mounted and dis- 
mounted sections were formed into cavalry and in- 
fantry regiments; while the eighty guns, which were 
included in the Balkh army, were established by bat- 
teries and an elementary knowledge of the principles 
of drill and tactics was imparted to the troops. 

In his task of reform Campbell received every en- 
couragement. Although Dost Mohammed himself 
made no alteration in the Kabul district, he watched 
with interest the work of reorganisation. Unfor- 
tunately Campbell died before any great progress 
could be made, his demise being followed within a 
short space by that of Dost Mohammed in 1863 
and Mohammed Afzul Khan in 1867. Neverthe- 
less his influence was abiding, since the spectacle 
presented by the Balkh forces prompted Shir Ali to 
adopt an Anglo-Indian model as the working basis 
for his reorganisation of the Kabul army. In the 
sixteen years of his reign, between 1863-1879, he 
continued to introduce improvements founded upon 
Anglo-Indian drill-books, which he had had trans- 
lated into Persian and Pushtu. Batteries of field 
and mountain artillery, and regiments of horse and 
foot were raised; territorial divisions were formed 
upon paper, and field columns, whose brigade and 
regimental units corresponded with the Anglo-Indian 
system, were created. In actual practice these troops 
were never brigaded together, and officers and men 
alike were ignorant of parade and musketry exercises. 
Nevertheless, if their notions of drill were vague, 
their spirits and their carriage were not unmartial. 

266 



THE ARMY 

The nominal strength of each infantry regiment 
was 800 men, although daily parade seldom mustered 
more than 600 men. The state of the cavalry regi- 
ments was 300 men, the complete return of the regu- 
lar forces of Afghanistan at this epoch being: 

NtTMBERS Average Total ArtiiiLeby 

16 Regiments of Infantry 800 12,800 

3 Regiments of Cavalry 300 900 

Field guns 67 

Moimtain gims 9 

Heavy guns 4 

Mortar 1 

Total 13,700 81 

The system of recruiting for these regiments was 
the worst conceivable. Neither conscription nor free 
enlistment, it was little better than the forcible 
seizure of the able-bodied in each district, the men 
being compelled to serve on pain of the imprison- 
ment and utter ruin of their families. The pay of 
the infantry was nominally five rupees a month, with 
ten rupees in each year deducted for clothing and 
accoutrements. The distribution of the remainder 
was very irregular and not unusually paid in grain, 
or credited to their families at home on account of 
local taxes. Consequently the soldier, often finding 
himself in his quarters without the means of purchas- 
ing the common necessaries of life, was driven to 
recoup his finances by highway robbery, a delinquency 
which the oflficers punished — by sharing in the spoil. 

These troops were accoutred with the discarded 
flint muskets, swords, belts, and bayonets of the 
British forces in India, or a Kabul imitation of these 

267 



AFGHANISTAN 

weapons. Certain companies were provided with 
two-grooved rifles, constructed from models carried 
off by deserters from some one or other of our frontier 
regiments. The uniforms were no less abominable, 
not infrequently representing purchases of condemned 
stores from frontier stations which had been dis- 
posed of at an auction. The clothing was invariably 
procured from these markets; and, as a consequence, 
native officers of all grades, even in the same regi- 
ment, might have been seen in every imaginable 
British habiliment, from a naval jacket to a whip- 
per's-in hunting coat, including the full dress of a 
general and the round beaver hat of a civilian. Brit- 
ish kit was very popular, and its possession conferred 
exceptional distinction upon the lucky owner. 

Of the horse it is only possible to say that in all 
respects they were a bad imitation of the Indian light 
cavalry, reproducing even their Hussar saddles and 
steel scabbards. Their appointments, equally with 
the infantry, were almost hopeless and their drill 
quite unsuited to their order. Foot drill was the 
conventional exercise; and, since all horses were sent 
out to graze during the summer months, mounted 
drill was practised only during the cold weather, 
when through lack of food the animals were too 
poor in condition to be put through their facings. 
The horses were undersized and generally procured 
from the Turkoman steppes, but man and beast 
were equally valueless. No less unsatisfactory were 
the Afghan artillery, although, from the numerical 
strength of the Amir's ordnance, a very false idea 

268 



THE ARMY 

might be formed of the actual value of his artillery. 
Many of the guns were useless; for others there was 
no ammunition; while the equipment and carriages 
of the field guns were of the most obsolete pattern. 

Besides these so-called troops, the Amir had always 
available the jezailchis, who were formerly the only 
infantry in the country. They were light troops, 
armed with matchlock and jezail, accustomed to 
hill warfare and perhaps as good skirmishers as were 
to be found at this time in Asia. Experience had 
taught them to be judges of ground and distance, 
while instinct made them chary of ambush. These 
were of two classes. The one class was in the ser- 
vice of the Amir, on a nominal salary of five rupees 
per mensem, which was paid in grain. These men 
were armed by the State and mustered some 3500 
men, employed in holding forts and posts through- 
out the country. They were commanded by Sab- 
bashis and Dahbashis, captains of hundreds and 
heads over tens, who received a proportionately 
higher rate of pay. The other class, the immediate 
following of the different chiefs, may be considered 
as a local militia. They were assigned rent-free a 
piece of land in lieu of pay; and, as a rule, these 
several bodies of militia numbered in each instance 
between 1000 and 1500 men. 

The Irregular Afghan Horse, as they existed at 
this time, are even more difiicult than the jezailchis 
to compute. They were not particularly numer- 
ous, although Kandahar and its dependencies could 
furnish 8000; Ghazni, 5000; Kabul, including Jela- 

269 



AFGHANISTAN 

labad, Logar, and the Koh-i-Daman, 15,000; while 
Balkh, with its Uzbeg population, returned 10,000. 
These men were the equal of any undisciplined horse- 
men in Asia; mounted upon small but wiry horses, 
carrying a perfect arsenal of weapons, among which 
shield, spear, matchlock, sword, pistol, and knife 
were prominent, they were always rough and inva- 
riably ready for the field. Capable of undergoing 
great fatigue and exceedingly harassing to a flying 
foe, they were, when led by a determined chief, any- 
thing but contemptible in a melee. 

The establishment of the regular and auxiliary 
forces, as they existed at this date, boasted no com- 
missariat department. In districts where the reve- 
nue was paid in grain a certain proportion was 
allotted to each fort; if the troops were on the march, 
orders upon the headmen of the various villages were 
issued, the villages being credited with the amount 
of grain, etc., supplied when the revenue came to be 
collected. Upon any occasion where the whole avail- 
able force was collected en masse each district had 
to furnish a certain amount of grain as well as its 
fighting contingent, the daily ration of every man 
being estimated at one seer of flour. So long as this 
supply lasted the men considered themselves bound 
to remain with their chiefs; but the moment that 
the issue ceased there was a general dissolution of 
the forces. Similarly, there was no settled transport 
system nor ordnance supply, arrangements, hap-haz- 
ard in the extreme, rising as occasion required. In 
many respects the changing conditions of military 

270 



THE ARMY 

life, in the absence of specific reforms, brought no 
remedy of abuses which, existing under Dost Mo- 
hammed, found opportunity for increased activity 
in the new order of affairs. The inevitable break- 
down occurred and at the first tests, imposed by the 
actions at Peiwar Kotal and Ali Mas j id, the entire 
machine went to pieces. Later, at Charasiab and 
Ahmad Khel, the Afghan array had returned to its 
own style of fighting and, under tribal leaders, ill- 
disciplined, yet courageous and determined, fought 
valiantly and well. 

In spite of the excellent beginnings which had 
been made by Shir Ali, the condition of the army at 
the time of his accession placed a very heavy burden 
upon the shoulders of Abdur Rahman. Handicapped 
by internal dissensions, it was not until he had es- 
tablished as paramount his authority over the tribes 
that he was able to turn attention to the crude struc- 
ture which had been built by his predecessor. Elab- 
orating the handiwork of Shir Ali by many personal 
touches, he gradually shaped the whole system to 
his own mould. To every regiment of cavalry and 
infantry he attached complementary engineer, med- 
ical, and commissariat details, so that each unit was 
complete in itself and independent of his brigade. 
In a measure, and as the outcome of this initiative, 
Abdur Rahman became the actual founder of the 
army of Afghanistan. Recognising the many defi- 
ciencies in the military system, he increased its poten- 
tial significance by substituting for the old feudal 
levies one central army, paid, created, and controlled 

271 



AFGHANISTAN 

directly by himself. With implacable severity he 
chastised his enemies, breaking up their powers of 
resistance and developing his own position until 
the foundations of his earlier work became the per- 
manent supports to a military autocracy. Regiment 
after regiment was added to the permanent strength 
of his military establishment as opportunity offered; 
while, in addition, 50,000 pack-mules and pack- 
ponies were set aside as a park of transport, and 
immense reserves of grain were stored in readiness 
at Herat, Kandahar, and Kabul. Monthly pay- 
sheets were drawn up, by which generals of the first 
class received 600 Kabuli rupees monthly, a briga- 
dier 250, a colonel of cavalry 200, a major 120, 
captains of cavalry 80, of infantry and artillery 30, 
down to corporals of foot, who received 10 rupees. 
The rank and file were paid partly in kind, a trooper 
getting 16 rupees in cash and four rupees' worth of 
grain, a private of foot 5 rupees in cash and three 
rupees' worth of grain. Every regiment was to 
have a chaplain (mullah), a physician Qiakim), and 
a surgeon (yarrah). To some extent bribery and 
corruption were suppressed. A corps of signallers 
was formed and a body of sappers and miners in- 
structed in the art of entrenchment, bridge-building, 
and road-making. Further, the gunners were taught 
the technique of their materiel, while the Kabul regi- 
ments were put through courses of musketry and 
the elemental mysteries of tactics and strategy were 
disclosed to their oflScers. 

So much was attempted by Abdur Rahman that 

272 



THE ARMY 

he well may be forgiven for leaving to his successor 
execution of detail. Within a few months of his 
accession the strength of the army in Kabul, Kanda- 
har, Herat, and beyond the Hindu Kush consisted of 
58,740 men with 182 guns. 





REGULARS 




CAVALBY 


INFANTRY ARTILLERY 


GUN3 


9750 


30,890 1600 
IRREGULARS 


182 


TRIBAL FOOT 


TRIBAL HORSE 


TOTAL 


9000 


7500 


58,740 



Weak in artillery — there being few trained gun- 
ners — the cannon, partly of English, partly of 
native manufacture and of various ages and patterns, 
were the time-honoured relics of Dost Mohammed 
and Shir Ali. The infantry rifles of the regulars 
also were of different makes, varying from the old 
two-grooved Brunswick to the Martini-Henry. The 
tribal forces were largely armed with matchlocks. 
Assisted by the subsidies which he received from the 
Government of India, Abdur Kahman swept away 
the rubbish and collected an immense stock of modern 
ordnance supplies. Over and above the quantity 
held against the immediate mobilisation of the stand- 
ing forces, by importation and manufacture he piled 
up a vast reserve of rifles, field-pieces, and guns 
of large calibre with their requisite ammunition, 
doubtless very varied in their character and includ- 
ing every sort of pattern from Krupp field-pieces 
to Maxim, Nordenfeldt, and Hotchkiss quick-firers. 

273 



AFGHANISTAN 

For this purpose he erected in Kabul itself the neces- 
sary works, imparting to the position of Afghanistan 
by these means and for the first time in its history 
some element of security, and creating an army which 
required only to be supervised with the same watch- 
fulness by his successor to attain ultimately as near 
to perfection as any purely native organisation can 
arrive. Ordnance factories — with a weekly output 
of 2 guns, 175 rifles, and a varying quantity of small 
arms ammunition — workshops, and an arsenal ex- 
isting to-day in Kabul prove the inflexible deter- 
mination of his plans. In furtherance of them it 
was his idea to fashion an army which, apportioned 
between regulars and tribal levies, would number 
1,000,000 men. There was to be a permanent regu- 
lar force of 300,000 men, with an established ammu- 
nition reserve of 500 rounds to each field-piece and 
5000 rounds to every rifle. Moreover, many months 
before his death the ordnance supplies, amassed in 
Kabul, sufficed for a very large proportion of such 
a force, at the same time exceeding the amount 
necessary for the requirements of the existing field 
and garrison forces. Had Abdur Rahman only sur- 
vived a few years longer, it is indisputable that a 
force of a million fighting men, more or less trained 
but at least efficiently armed, would have been 
secured, although it may be doubted whether, save 
under the press of dire necessity, he would have 
ventured to issue weapons to them or to place more 
than a quarter of this number actually in the field. 
At his demise the numbers of the forces available 

274 



THE ARMY 

were considerably below the million standard. At 
that time the peace strength of the regular army was 
estimated at 150,000 men, distributed between the 
military centres of Herat, Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar-i- 
Sharif, Jelalabad, Asmai, the region of the Upper 
Oxus, and in detachments on frontier duty along 
the Russo-Afghan, Perso-Afghan, and Indo-Afghan 
boundaries. 

The many flaws in the system which Abdur Rah- 
man had created were emphasised at his death, in 
part by the indifference of Habib Ullah to matters 
military, but in the main by organic difficulties em- 
anating from reactionary influences in the environ- 
ment of the throne. Broadly speaking, the army 
and administration of Afghanistan were too cen- 
tralised to be continuous unless the reins of govern- 
ment had passed into the hands of a man as fearless 
and able as Abdur Rahman was. Habib Ullah is a 
man of different mould; and as a consequence on the 
death of Abdur Rahman the absolutism of his rule 
suffered material contraction. 

It is to be regretted that the late Amir, while 
evolving out of a heterogeneous collection of warring 
tribes a settled and independent country, failed to 
bequeath to his son any portion of his own singular 
abilities. As a consequence the order of govern- 
ment in Kabul is neither so unquestioned nor 
substantial as it was, for the men whose services 
assisted Abdur Rahman to effect his life's work have 
dropped out — from death or through inability to 
serve Habib Ullah. Faults, inherent in the char- 

275 



AFGHANISTAN 

acter of the Afghans and particularly prominent in 
the present Amir, have thus measured the success 
which befell Abdur Rahman by the span of that 
ruler's life, until it is really but little more than the 
shell of the former edifice which now remains. 

Deprived of the inspiring genius of Abdur Rah- 
man, within the five years which have elapsed since 
his death there is every ground to believe that the 
army has fallen away in efl&ciency as well as in 
numbers, and that the work of reorganisation largely 
requires to be repeated. In a measure the Afghans 
retain at the present time their old characteristics — 
their love of their own country and their hatred of 
alien races; but, through lapse of time and their in- 
tercourse on the one hand with the Russians and in 
the other direction with India, they are liable to 
flock to the standard of the Amir less than they 
were. It must not be forgotten that to-day Afghan- 
istan reproduces the condition of a settled country, 
possessing a population much more peaceful than 
were the inhabitants a generation ago. Moreover, 
through the penetrating associations of prosperity 
and through many years of peace the warlike in- 
stincts of the tribes have become numbed, while their 
martial ardour has evaporated, requiring constant 
amelioration of the conditions of service by way of 
stimulating their military zeal. Increases of pay and 
more generous rations have been conceded in the 
past and, lately, attempts have been made to soothe 
the susceptibilities of the officers. Habib Ullah has 
ordained that for the future promotions will go by 

276 



THE ARMY 

seniority, although the system of selection, where it 
is concerned with posts which are hereditary in fam- 
ilies connected with the Royal House, will not be 
altered. As a sop to the feelings of the rank and 
file the class-company system is to be enforced, the 
men of the different tribes being incorporated regi- 
mentally under their own tribal leaders. In this 
direction, too, it is of interest to note that every 
cantonment will be provided with a garrison mullah 
who, on Fridays, will read prayers before the as- 
sembled troops and address them on Saints' Days, 
while teachers in religious instruction are to be 
attached to each regimental company. 

Lately, Habib UUah has shown signs of awaken- 
ing to the responsibilities of his position; and it is to 
be hoped that, under pressure from recent political 
circumstances, he may abandon the foolish indul- 
gence to which hitherto he has been a slave. Indica- 
tions of this spirit are not very pronounced, but their 
manifestation does not come a moment too soon. 
In the main they are associated with military matters, 
although certain measures deal exclusively with the 
administration. Among the former, orders have been 
given to the leather factories in Kabul to manufac- 
ture 300,000 sets of infantry equipment and an agent 
has been despatched to India to purchase gear for 
the mounted branches of the service. At best these 
activities are no promise of an abiding interest in 
his service, and, indeed, they are discounted by his 
refusal to hearken to advice. At the present time 
the army of Afghanistan, in its existing condition, 

277 



AFGHANISTAN 

admittedly possesses in a high degree the quaHties 
of endurance, courage, and mobihty; but, in spite of 
its modern guise, it lacks discipline and cohesion and, 
as a fighting machine, is liable upon these grounds to 
be thrown quickly out of gear. Under these circum- 
stances the observation may perhaps be hazarded 
that it would be as well, before equipping it with 
first-class material, to make sure that the men were 
sufficiently organised to understand its use. At pres- 
ent modern weapons are unknown to the great bulk 
of the forces of Afghanistan; and it cannot be denied 
that the absence of this quality makes it more of a 
menace to itself than to an enemy. Hitherto there 
has been greater variety than method in the Afghan 
military equipment, irregularity of pattern distin- 
guishing alike rifle, field-piece, and ammunition, 
while the education of the officers and the training 
of the men has been neglected. 

The continuation of these imperfections is due 
primarily to the inability of the Amir of Afghani- 
stan to rely upon the loyalty of his troops. At the 
same time their existence appertains to every Orien- 
tal army which is placed solely in native custody. 
They have always been a feature of the Afghan ser- 
vice. The condition of the garrison in the capital 
perhaps reveals some little superiority over those 
which are placed farther afield, but it can be affirmed 
quite truly that the military qualities of Afghanistan 
proceed entirely from the inborn fanaticism of its 
people and not from the practical organisation of 
its active state. Nevertheless under conditions 

278 



THE ARMY 

applicable to mountain warfare the Afghan army 
could become an invaluable auxiliary; although its 
capacity, as well as its determination, to offer any 
prolonged resistance are matters of doubt. Defects 
could be removed by reorganisation; good qualities 
enhanced by careful training under British officers 
or by the despatch of selected Afghan officers and 
men for training with our own troops. 

In spite of the obduracy of Habib UUah over this 
point, he has made known his intention of falling 
back upon the support of the Indian Government 
when his own arms have been defeated. This con- 
tingency, which is liable to arise at the outset of 
a war with any foreign power, imposes upon the 
Government of India a thankless burden, in no way 
lessened by the proposal of the Amir to create in 
Kabul an Afghan Staff College, and the determina- 
tion of the Imperial Government to avoid insistence 
upon what is, by no means, an unreasonable precau- 
tion. As matters rest at present, unless change is 
introduced, the preposterous conceit which distin- 
guishes the Afghans is destined to receive an un- 
welcome shock. Nevertheless the Amir cannot be 
persuaded to place his military affairs in the hands 
of the Indian Government; since, now that the Jap- 
anese have beaten the Russians and, in the mind of 
the Amir, the Imperial Government is frightened at 
the Russian Government, the Afghans argue, having 
defeated British arms, that they are now superior to 
the Japanese. Therefore they deny us the posses- 
sion of any point of advantage in their country, a 

279 



AFGHANISTAN 

consummation which, while not quite that towards 
which our diplomacy has been directed, may be 
ascribed to the results, in combination, of a policy of 
friendly missions and half measures. Now that we 
have given Habib UUah permission to import with- 
out check unlimited supplies of arms and ammuni- 
tion the disadvantages of such a situation increase 
rather than diminish; as it exists so close to the 
Indian frontier and in a way in which it cannot be 
controlled by the Indian Government, it behooves the 
Imperial Government to come to a definite decision 
at once with regard to its line of action in relation 
to Afghanistan. 

Abdur Rahman did not confine his work of reorgan- 
isation solely to the military system of Afghanistan. 
He devoted great attention to the military roads of 
the State, realising that a system of communications 
was as important as a well-equipped and efiiciently 
organised army. Kabul, as the capital, was united 
with Badakshan on the east, with Turkestan on the 
north, and with Kandahar and Herat on the south 
and west. Prior to these works certain native roads 
did exist between the several centres; but it was due 
to the activity and initiative of the late Amir that 
improvements were introduced, or altogether new 
lines of communication opened. Undeterred by the 
difficulties which beset his engineers and as an index 
to the consistent vigour with which he assisted the 
development and execution of his policy, he threw 
roads across the Hindu Kush, facilitating by these 
means not only the trend of inter-provincial trade, 

280 



THE ARMY 

but the pacification and administration of his Prov- 
inces. In addition to these strategic roads, he im- 
proved the trade routes which led into the country 
from the Trans-Oxus, India, and Persia. In the south 
the Khyber, Kurram, and the Gomul routes received 
notice; in the north there were the routes from Rus- 
sian Turkestan leading through well-known centres 
to points of admission upon the Afghan border. 
After the subjugation of Kafiristan he took the 
precaution of making a military road through that 
country from north to south, thus opening up com- 
munication with the Kunar Valley, and Jelalabad, 
where considerable numbers of troops are always 
stationed. Further, he directed that it should even- 
tually be carried over the western Hindu Kush so as 
to give a better route to Kataghan, Badakshan, and 
the upper Oxus Valley. This portion of the work 
was finished in March, 1904. The northern termi- 
nus of the road is at Faizabad, the principal town 
of Badakshan, where caravan routes meet from 
Bokhara on the north-west, the Pamirs and Kashgar 
on the north-east. The Afghan Government has 
constructed serais at all the halting-places, and cara- 
vans are encouraged to use the road in preference 
to that through Chitral. 

Curiously enough, in another direction, the con- 
struction of fortresses, Abdur Rahman was more 
neglectful. If he improved the lines of communica- 
tion and reorganised the state of the army, he built 
but few forts, relying almost entirely upon those 
which already had been constructed. Nowadays, 

281 



AFGHANISTAN 

with the exception of the Kabul positions, Dehdadi, 
Mazar-i-Sharif and Baldak Spin, the two latter of 
which he built to command the approaches to Balkh 
and Kandahar, there are no modern forts in the 
kingdom. Those that do exist are made of mud and 
are of insufficient strength to withstand bombard- 
ment. The great majority serve merely as garrison 
depots and are without interest save as interesting 
ruins. 

Note: The following information concerning the 
trade in fire-arms in Afghanistan is furnished by the 
American Consul-General, William H. Michael, of 
Calcutta: 

It appears that on the Persian border of Afghanistan a 
single-loading rifle, of the type lately imported in such large 
numbers, is priced at from $6 to $6.75; a Martini rifle, $5 
to $6.75; a ten-chamber revolver, $8; and a magazine rifle, 
$16.75. By the time these weapons reach Kabul their value 
has greatly increased, viz., a single-loader, $80; a Martini- 
Henry, $80; a ten-chamber revolver, $33; and a magazine 
rifle, $165. In the Pathan valleys the price is again increased, 
and at present as much as $264 is being given for a magazine 
rifle with a packet of ammunition thrown in, and a revolver 
with a few rounds of ammunition fetches $100. The types 
of rifle made in the Kohat Pass and elsewhere are priced at 
about $30. There are several factories, one in the village of 
Shiadatalab, another at Sahibuddin, and others in the Khunki 
Valley. Government rifles are copied as exactly as possible. 
Many Punjabi mechanics are employed, but there are a num- 
ber of Pathans at work, too, and their workshops are not 
wanting in tools or machinery. 



'282 



CHAPTER XVII 

KABUL: ITS PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

THE road from Kandahar to Kabul in its 
present condition is one of those permanent 
improvements with which the late Abdur 
Rahman endowed Afghanistan. Under the segis of 
that energetic ruler the old caravan routes between 
Kandahar and Kabul, and Kabul and Herat, were 
replaced by first-class military communications, the 
elders of the villages in the several districts trav- 
ersed being held responsible for their security. The 
road to Kabul runs north-east from Kandahar and 
the distance is 315 miles. The two points of im- 
portance are Kelat-i-Ghilzai, on the right bank of 
the Tarnak River and 85 miles north-east of Kanda- 
har, and Ghazni, 225 miles north-east of Kandahar 
and 78 miles south-west of Kabul. 

There is no town at Kelat-i-Ghilzai; but there are 
two small walled villages not far from the fort to the 
north-west and a few nomadic encampments upon 
the surrounding plain. The fort stands upon an iso- 
lated plateau which in places is very steep. There 
are two gateways, respectively situated upon the 
northern and southern faces of the work. The quar- 
ters of the garrison are arranged along the eastern 

283 



AFGHANISTAN 

and western faces and a battery of four guns is posted 
upon a neighbouring height. The garrison is not 
large and the defences have suffered from neglect. 
There is good water from springs within the perim- 
eter of the fort; but the position is endangered by 
the existence of certain features in the immediate 
vicinity which command the walls, and also by the 
facilities for cover offered by the character of the 
approaches. The bazaar is small, containing fifty 
shops : in addition there are several Government gran- 
aries and a residence for the Governor. 

Ghazni, the capital of the Ghilzai country and the 
principal centre between Kandahar and Kabul, 
occupies a very important point, since it commands 
the road through the Gomul Pass to Dera Ismail 
Khan. From its strategical position, too, it must 
be considered the pivot to any line of operations 
against an enemy advancing from the west or north; 
while its possession in the hands of an Indian army 
would place such a force astride one of the most 
important channels of communication in the State. 
It is situated upon the left bank of the Ghazni River, 
on level ground between the river and the termina- 
tion of a spur, running east and west from the Gilkoh 
Range 7730 feet above sea-level. The place spreads 
itself out to the south and east, but the river checks 
its expansion on the west, the stream leaving but a 
confined space between its left bank and the knoll 
where the citadel stands. It is surrounded by a high 
wall, built upon the top of a mound, in part nat- 
ural and in part artificial. The wall is of composite 

284 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

construction, stone and brick masonry laid in mud 
having been employed in its erection. It is flanked 
at irregular intervals by towers and possesses a total 
circumference, inclusive of the citadel, of 1750 yards. 
The citadel is situated at the north angle of the 
town, upon an abrupt, detached knoll where the 
hills terminate. It lies 150 feet above the plain and 
dominates the city completely. Its defences are a 
high masonry wall, loopholed and provided with a 
parapet, but no rampart save the natural hill. There 
are four towers at the angles, but these are small 
and insignificant. The citadel has no other strength 
than that afforded by its commanding situation and 
formidable slopes; the area of the summit of the knoll 
is limited and the buildings are not adapted to shell- 
fire. The town and citadel are both commanded by 
hills to the north, but the former is in a measure 
sheltered by the position of the latter. The supply 
of water is unreliable and there is only one well within 
the walls. The view from the citadel is extensive, 
but by no means inviting, as the plain is very in- 
differently furnished with villages. There are very 
numerous shrines — 197 being the number given — 
which are surrounded by orchards, vineyards, and 
small corn-fields. Excepting along the course of the 
river the plain is bare and empty, although it is 
broken up by the irrigation channels which cross the 
road at intervals of 8 and 10 miles. Distant hills 
extend in low ranges of bare rock. The country 
skirting them is a waste of stone and scrub, in the 
possession of wandering Ghilzais whose flocks of 

285 



AFGHANISTAN 

goats, sheep, and camels share the pastures with wild 
deer, wolves, foxes, and hares. The black-hair tents 
of these nomads of the desert, pitched in the shel- 
tered hollows of its surface for protection from the 
keen westerly wind, impart to the scene its sole sign 
of human habitation. 

The town itself is dirty. The thoroughfares, lined 
with houses several storeys in height, are narrow, 
dark, and irregular. Near the base of the citadel, 
upon its easterly and westerly aspect, there is a small 
open space varying from 100 yards to 150 yards; 
upon the southern side the houses crowd close up to 
the rock. From the Khanah gate to the Kandahar 
or Bazaar gate a street runs with some pretensions 
to uniformity of breadth and directness of course. 
Another leads north-east to the open space upon the 
west of the citadel, while from the Kabul gate there 
is communication by several narrow and somewhat 
tortuous lanes. The houses are built of mud; only 
in rare instances do they possess domed roofs. 

The population fluctuates according to the season 
and the amount of trade passing into India. It sel- 
dom rises above 8000 people nor falls much below 
3000 people. The inhabitants are largely drawn from 
the Nasir, Suliman Khel, and other Ghilzai clans, 
who are concerned with the through caravan trade 
via the Gomul, together with a certain proportion 
of Duranis and Tajiks. There are, also, 250 families 
of Hazara labourers and perhaps 200 Hindoo shop- 
keepers, bankers, and traders. The community in 
Ghazni is very mixed, ignorant, superstitious, and, 

286 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

if the Hindoo element is excepted, without wealth. 
Hindoos in Ghazni are required to wear tight trou- 
sers instead of loose ones, a black cap in place of a 
turban, and to pay a capitation tax. Upon compli- 
ance with these restrictions they receive protection 
and contrive to control the trade between India and 
Afghanistan. The chief trade of the place is in corn, 
fruits, and madder, all of which are largely produced 
in the district. Wool and camel's-hair cloth are 
brought into the market from the adjoining Hazara 
country; and, since the British occupation of Wano 
and the opening up of the Gomul Pass, local com- 
merce has developed. Agriculturally the district is 
a rich one. Large crops of wheat and barley are 
obtained, the capital itself drawing no small propor- 
tion of its grain supply from this market. In addi- 
tion to the land under cereal cultivation there are 
magnificent pastures, while the fruit is no less cele- 
brated. The excellence of the apples surpasses that 
of those grown at Kandahar, although the Kandahar 
melons, an especial production of that city, are 
superior to the variety which are reared at Ghazni; 
For corn and apricots Kabul makes a heavy demand 
upon Ghazni; but the madder grown in the vicinity 
is almost all exported to India, while tobacco, corn, 
and the castor-oil plant are grown only for home 
consumption. 

The climate of Ghazni for several months of the 
year is very cold, the snow lying upon the ground 
from November until the middle of March. Frosts 
fall early in October and the ice lasts until mid-day; 

287 



AFGHANISTAN 

from November for many weeks there is no thaw at 
all. In December the country is covered with 3 
feet of snow which remains on the ground until 
March. The spring is genial and, as the fields 
become green, flowers appear on the plain. Rain 
falls irregularly and only for a few days, but the 
bane of the climate is the dust which comes up with 
the westerly winds. In summer the heat is less than 
that which prevails at Kabul and Kandahar. The 
severity of the winter months entails as a rule heavy 
mortality among the people, the lack of fuel being 
the principal cause of the deaths. The flocks of 
sheep and goats and the droves of camels also suffer; 
and, as there is a large nomadic population in the 
district, the distress is not confined to the limits of 
the town. Indeed, the Ghazni centre experiences 
a higher rate of mortality than anywhere else in 
Afghanistan. 

Kabul is situated at the western extremity of a 
spacious plain in an angle formed by the approach of 
two converging heights, the Asmai and the Shere 
Darwaza, with which the Takht-i-Shah is joined by 
a narrow ridge 7 miles above the confluence of the 
Logar and Kabul Rivers. The elevation of these 
three hills are: Asmai, 6790 feet; Shere Darwaza, 
7166 feet; and the Takht-i-Shah, 7530 feet. The city 
is about 3 miles in circumference, but there are no 
walls round it at the present time. Formerly it was 
encircled by walls constructed of sun-baked bricks 
and mud. Traces of the wall may be seen in many 
places; along the crests of the Asmai and Shere 

288 




Q 
< 

< 
O 

< 

m 

Q 

o 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

Darwaza it is still standing and follows those heights 
to the Kabul River, which separates the two. If the 
existing landmarks are any indication of its origi- 
nal size, it is improbable that old Kabul ever can 
have boasted a permanent population of 20,000 in- 
habitants. The walls of the old city were pierced 
by seven gates, the Lahore gate being now the only 
one which is left. These earlier gates were the 
Sirdar, Pet, Deh Afghanan, Deh Mazang, Guzar 
Gah, Jabr, and the Lahore, the existing entrance. 
Of these the Sirdar was the last, and the Jabr gate 
the" first, to be removed. The sites of the others, 
although no longer existing, are quite well known 
and serve as custom stations to the revenue ofiicers. 
Many of the names by which these seven gates were 
known belonged to 1504, when Baber raised the for- 
tunes of the city to the dignity of a capital — a period 
so remote from to-day that it is only by the recapit- 
ulation of the names that the incidents of that 
epoch are recalled. Nowadays the Lahore gate has 
fallen into decay and its heavy wooden doors, stud- 
ded with iron, appear as if about to fall. The brick- 
work of the gateway has also crumbled and the 
loopholes in the arch are choked with rubbish. In 
spite of its dilapidated condition it remains an 
emphatic link between the present time and those 
past centuries. 

The city extends a mile and a half from east to 
west and a mile from north to south. Hemmed in 
by the mountains, there is little room for a capital 
of any size, except in a northerly direction towards 

289 



AFGHANISTAN 

the Shirpur cantonment. It is the intention of the 
present ruler of Afghanistan to lay down the lines of 
a new city, which, in size and in the importance of 
its defences, shall be worthy of the growing dignity 
of the State. The late Amir, Abdur Rahman, had 
planned the site of another capital in the fertile 
Chahardeh Valley to the west of Shere Darwaza and 
Asmai, and between them and the Paghman Hills, 
when death interrupted his labours. Nevertheless he 
bequeathed his policy to his successor, Habib UUah, 
who has not yet moved in the matter. Shir Ali, 
disgusted with the unpleasant condition of his city, 
began a new one at Shirpur — the city of Shir Ali — 
but circumstances prevented him from completing 
more than three walls, these relics of a self-imposed 
task subsequently affording much assistance to the 
British when the Shirpur cantonment was built. In 
its present state Kabul affords a curious and inter- 
esting study in contrasts between the old and the 
new conditions. It is still a dirty city, its mean 
appearance emphasised by the neglected condition of 
its rambling lanes and the ramshackle character of 
its houses. Yet it boasts the possession of several 
buildings more or less imposing, their existence strik- 
ing a very welcome note of relief after any close 
acquaintance with the narrow, ill-paved streets and 
their unusually sordid environment. Still, accumu- 
lations of dirt and the neglect of ages cannot con- 
ceal in the general complexion of the capital a 
certain tawdry magnificence, constantly illustrated 
by the erection of elaborate edifices that pass into 

290 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

neglect within a short space of their construction. 
In this way there are quite a number of so-called 
palaces in Kabul, as well as various buildings which, 
erected under the spur of that conspicuous vanity 
that distinguishes the Afghan Court, and vaguely 
intended for industrial enterprises, have been aban- 
doned entirely or put to other uses. 

In spite of the vagaries of design that distinguish 
the architectural arts as they are revealed in Kabul, 
interest clings to the old Bala Hissar which, lying on 
a spur at the foot of the Shere Darwaza, was the 
abode of Shir Ali, similarly serving as the Residency 
for Cavagnari when that ill-fated officer lived there. 
The Bala Hissar is now in ruins, but it still contains 
the Black Well, a hole of infamous repute, serving as 
a prison for political offenders and other malefactors. 
The defences of the Bala Hissar have been demol- 
ished, although the original gateway is still standing 
and the outer wall and moat exist. The fort itself 
is now used as a magazine and within the walls rough 
barracks have been provided for the troops. The 
recent increase in the garrison of the city is expected 
to occasion its total demolition and the re-erection of 
more convenient quarters. 

The modern palaces of Kabul are, of course, 
superior in size and in their schemes of adornment to 
the earlier buildings; on this account it is impossible 
that they can fail to arrest attention. The residence 
which will become eventually the principal seat of 
the Amir in Kabul is the Dil Khusha Palace. This 
is still in process of construction. Much time has 

291 



AFGHANISTAN 

been spent over the work, Mr. Finlayson, the archi- 
tect retained by the Amir, being delayed with his 
task by native jealousies and Court intrigues. It 
will be a large, semi-European structure with two 
storeys, the upper windows permitting pleasant views 
of the palace gardens. Its cost, which will amount 
to several lakhs of rupees, is to be borne by the 
resources of the State which are already quite suffi- 
ciently straitened. As a rule the Amir selects his 
abode according to the prevailing season, changing 
as the whim seizes him, the apparent caprice being 
more generally dictated by the fear of assassination. 
The favourite palace, the Erg, which was appointed 
as the quarters of the Dane Mission, lies a little 
beyond the town, between it and the Shirpur can- 
tonment where Elphinstone had his headquarters. 
Here there is now located a hospital for sick and 
wounded soldiers; and, provided by a paternal and 
God-granted Government, a retreat for lunatics, 
maimed prisoners, and the blind and indigent, where 
the delights of a lingering death may be indulged, 
since the authorities thoughtfully refuse either aid or 
medicine. The palace of the Erg corresponds more 
nearly with the part played in the old days by the 
Bala Hissar. It is at once the central domicile of 
the Court and a strong defensive work, although it 
is commanded by a fort situated on the summit of 
Asmai. The accommodation is divided between the 
palace quarter, occupying the inmost station, and 
an inner and outer fort. A high wall, pierced on its 
eastern aspect by a square gateway (in which there 

292 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

are no gates), encloses the entire position. Within 
the gateway and extending round the wall of the 
outer fort are the quarters of the troops, and in the 
centre there are spacious gardens. One regiment is 
always on duty in the outer fort, a second regiment 
being detailed to safeguard the defences of the 
palace proper and its outer precincts. At no time 
during the day or night is the Amir without a strong 
guard. Cossack posts are established about the en- 
trance, while patrols and sentries watch the grounds 
and the palace itself. The inner fort is separated 
from the outer one by a wide, deep ditch, and on 
the remote side there rise high battlements. Access 
to it is gained by a drawbridge which, lowered be- 
tween sunrise and sunset, is raised at night. 

In appearance this work is decidedly Oriental. 
The much decorated gateway is set in a semicircular 
recess, flanked by imposing bastions. The gates are 
of wood, massive and studded with iron, the arches 
on either side containing quarters for the guards. To 
enter it is necessary to cross the guard-room and to 
negotiate beyond it the various sentries. In a small 
tower above the gateway a Maxim is stationed, the 
tower itself being used at sunrise and sunset as a 
place of ceremonial salutation. Morning and night 
throughout the year, when the Amir is in residence, 
the changing of the guards is accompanied with an 
outburst of native music, a weird discord of drum 
and horn, which breaks forth in greeting to his High- 
ness. This inner work is itself divided by a further 
wall, which is pierced with loopholes and unceasingly 

293 



AFGHANISTAN 

patrolled. To a certain extent it acts as a defensive 
curtain to the heart of the palace, for, in the space 
between, there are a series of small gardens and the 
palace premises. The garden walks are fenced with 
iron railings; abutting from them at their eastern 
and southern extremities are rows of symmetrically 
arranged buildings of single and double storeys. A 
postern gate affords admission, its position covered 
by a massive, wooden screen of considerable height, 
length, and strength. This erection protects the 
palace when the postern gate is open. The several 
buildings that are congregated behind the curtain- 
wall comprise the Amir's pavilion, the oflScial quar- 
ters of the princes, and a separate enclosure in which 
stands the Harem Serai. In addition there are the 
Amir's treasury and storehouses, together with the 
quarters of certain Court officials and the barracks of 
the body-guard — the little colony being set within a 
landscape of singular beauty. Numerous varieties of 
plants grow in the garden; about the pavilion there 
is a wealth of flowering stocks, sweet-smelling peas 
and gaily coloured roses, the air being heavy with 
the scent of many perfumes. Considering the mean 
and uncomfortable squalor of the city, the presence 
of this oasis, with its fresh flowers, green grass, shady 
trees, and neatly tended paths, lends to the position 
of the palace an attractive brightness. Away from 
the flowers there is a somewhat garish note: the 
walks between the beds are paved with marble, and 
the stone figures of two recumbent lions repose upon 
either side of steps leading to the pavilion. This 

294 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

building was constructed by Abdur Rahman, its plan 
being modelled upon a church which he had seen 
in Tashkent. It is a pretentious two-storey struc- 
ture, square in position, dome-shaped in design, with 
towers and cupolas upon each corner, the lofty, octag- 
onal hall reaching to the roof. Upon the ground 
floor four alcoves lead off from the main space, and 
above them there are four other rooms. 

The corner towers possess an upper and a lower 
chamber. A covered walk runs round three sides, 
shading the windows of the alcoves from the glare of 
the sun at noon. The upper rooms are lighted by 
windows overlooking the gardens; the alcoves on the 
ground floor by windows which open upon the veran- 
dah. The outer face of the walk is pierced by nine 
arches, and the roof serves as a promenade for any 
one who may be occupying the chambers in the 
towers. Each alcove is about 12 feet square, while 
the breadth of the hall is 18 feet. The recesses are 
retained by the Amir for his personal use, one acting 
as an entrance lobby, another as the receptacle for 
his couch, a third as a writing-room and a fourth as 
a waiting-place for his pages. There are no doors 
to these recesses on the main floor, and between 
each, lying back against the wall, there are various 
articles of furniture, a black wood writing-desk, a 
German piano, a marble-topped table, and a carved- 
wood cabinet. Two pictures adorn the wall — one 
representing the House of Commons and the other 
the House of Lords; it might be a suitable atten- 
tion upon the part of the Government of India to 

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AFGHANISTAN 

supplement these pictures with paintings of Queen 
Victoria, Edward VII, and Queen Alexandra. 

For audiences of a semi-private character, as well 
as for all Durbar matters of a public nature, Abdur 
Rahman frequented the Durbar Hall, situated be- 
yond the moat in the gardens of the Erg Palace. 
It is a long, lofty building with pillared verandah, 
corrugated iron roof, and twelve spacious windows 
on each side, curtained after the European fashion. 
Two rows of white columns, placed at regular stages 
down the floor of the building, support an elabo- 
rately carved ceiling, ornamented with stencilled 
plates beaten out of empty kerosene tins. It is 60 
yards in length and 20 yards in breadth. The deco- 
ration is Oriental, but in the upholstery there is a 
mingling of the influence of the West with certain 
fashions of the East. The eastern entrance admits 
through a big double doorway and portico to the 
Durbar chamber, which is usually the scene of any 
festivities that the Amir may provide for the delecta- 
tion of his Court or the entertainment of his guests. 
At such a moment the floor is carpeted with English 
carpets and the aisles of the hall are occupied by long 
tables, each place being set with a cane-bottomed 
wooden arm-chair, European cutlery, and Indian 
napery. The illumination proceeds from two elec- 
tric arc lamps, their dynamo worked by a portable 
engine which is brought from the workshops for 
the occasion. The building lies east and west across 
the garden and, at its western extremity, there is the 
Amir's Guest House. This comprises, on the ground 

296 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

floor, a large hall, which opens into the palace gar- 
dens, and three smaller rooms. A stone staircase, 
with wooden balustrade, leads where there is a second 
apartment, on an upper floor, lighted by many double 
windows and giving upon a terrace. 

In addition to a summer palace at Indikki, re- 
garded by the late Amir as a convenient place of 
banishment for his sons when occasion for their 
punishment occurred, there is the Shah Ara Palace. 
This was used for the reception of the Dane Mis- 
sion, and is generally employed in all state cere- 
monies. It is situated in a spacious garden, where 
stands during Ramazan a Durbar tent, in which the 
Amir fulfils his religious duties. For audiences with 
the Amir at this palace the invited guests assemble 
in a similar tent, whence they are conducted to the 
throne room. The floor of this apartment is deco- 
rated with Persian carpets; and a row of chairs, 
arranged along one wall, is confronted by two carved 
cupboards. In the centre of the room is a polished 
table and near the entrance there is a smaller one, 
circular and marble-topped. The Durbars held in 
this palace are of interest because they constitute 
one of the few occasions upon which the Amir of 
Afghanistan receives and speaks with Europeans. 

The Amir is smaller in stature than his father, to 
whom he bears a marked facial resemblance; his 
attitude is no less dignified, although his manner is 
much milder than that which distinguished the late 
Abdur Rahman. In speaking, Habib Ullah suffers 
from a slight impediment of speech, the result of an 

297 



AFGHANISTAN 

attempt against his life when, as a child, some one 
endeavoured to poison him. In appearance he is of 
a light complexion, with heavy features which are 
adorned with a slight beard and moustache. He is 
broad, rather clumsily built, with a marked tendency 
to stoutness. Neither in his face, nor in such evi- 
dences of capacity as he has shown, does he reveal 
the truculent ability of his immediate predecessor 
upon the throne. 

Frankness and self-reliance were, perhaps, the 
most prominent characteristics of Abdur Rahman's 
nature. At the same time he was a genial, strong, 
clever man of the world, well-informed upon all sub- 
jects of general interest, eloquent, resolute, logical, 
and possessed of much innate humour and facility 
in repartee. Always alive to his own interests, he 
possessed no small capacity for intrigue; and his first 
bid for position in Afghanistan was as the nominee of 
the Russians, General Kauffman, the Russian Gov- 
ernor-General of Turkestan, having arranged that 
he should be supplied with 200 breech-loading rifles, 
20,000 rounds of ammunition, accoutrements for 100 
horses and 100 footmen, and 5000 Bokhara tillas 
(35,000 rupees). Yet when he appeared across the 
border and arrived at a secret understanding with 
the Government of India about his nomination as 
Amir, he posed as the champion of his faith and 
the liberator of the land from foreign domination, 
suppressing, in order to do this, all mention of 
his agreement with England and of his relations 
with Russia. Nevertheless, as soon as his own posi- 

298 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

tlon was secure, he curtailed the influence of the 
mullahs. 

In spite of his amiability Habib UUah does not 
possess a very secure seat upon his throne, the in- 
trigues of the queen-mother and the jealousy of 
his brothers disturbing his position. Nor does he 
receive the confidence of his people or reveal suffi- 
cient strength of character to dominate the situation. 
Afghanistan needs the firm hand of a man, who is as 
much a maker as a ruler of men. Habib Ullah is 
weak-willed; and, in a country where the authority 
of the priest is a law in the land, his subserviency to 
priestly control and his subjection to the influence of 
his brother, Nasr Ullah Khan, have attracted univer- 
sal attention. Nasr Ullah and the Queen Dowager, 
Bibi Halima, wife of the late Amir and the mother of 
Sirdar Mohammed Omar Jar Khan, are the stormy 
petrels in the Afghan sea of domestic politics. Habib 
Ullah in some measure understands the situation; 
and, doubtless, it is out of respect for their dignity 
that Bibi Halmi and Omar Khan are closely pro- 
tected by a strong detachment of the Imperial Body- 
guard — so closely, indeed, that they are practically 
state prisoners. 

It is more difficult for the Amir to assail the posi- 
tion occupied by Nasr Ullah, who was appointed com- 
mander-in-chief of the Afghan army in the early 
days of Habib Ullah's accession. Little attempt 
therefore is made by the Amir to curb the master- 
ful will of his brother. Nasr Ullah Khan, who has 
become a Hafis or repeater of the Koran, also held the 

299 



AFGHANISTAN 

office of Shahgassi, or Gentleman Usher to the King. 
Just before the advent of the Dane Mission at Kabul 
he was created an Itwad-ul-Dowlah or Pillar of the 
State. In his dual capacity he threw into the scales 
already settling against the Mission the whole weight 
of his influence, ultimately securing its complete dis- 
comfiture. He is not, perhaps, the most reliable 
prop to the policy and rule of his brother, since he 
aspires to the throne for himself; and there is no 
doubt that when opportunity offers he will make a 
bid for it. At the moment neither his plans nor his 
partisans are prepared, but events move with such 
swiftness in Afghanistan that no one can gauge 
more than approximately the varying fortunes of the 
situation. Serious family quarrels have compelled 
the Amir to exercise his authority in the arbitrary 
way common in Afghanistan. The first step taken 
was in 1904, when the Omar Jar was deprived of 
his body-guard, the men being sent back to their 
regiments. The next step was to remove him from 
his office as head of all Government officials, an 
appointment in which he had succeeded Nasr Ullah 
Khan in 1902. These proceedings caused much 
excitement in the capital, and public feeling increased 
when it became known the Bibi Halima had refused 
to accept the allowance assigned to her for the upkeep 
of her household. Matters became further compli- 
cated by an incident which roused the Amir's anger 
against the "Queen's" faction. Omar Jar ordered 
the Master of the Horse to send him the favourite 
charger of the late Amir. This request was disre- 

300 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

garded, and the unfortunate officer, on being sum- 
moned to give an explanation, was so maltreated by 
the Sirdar's retainers that he died from his injuries. 
When news of these proceedings reached the ears of 
the Amir, the Bibi Halima and her son were directed 
to leave the palace where they had resided since 
the demise of Abdur Rahman, Habib Ullah finally 
decreeing that they should be confined to another 
residence where they are practically state prisoners. 
His Highness is said to have asked two of the prin- 
cipal mullahs in Kabul to adjudicate upon the causes 
of the strained relations existing in his family; but, 
although a temporary compromise was established, 
no permanent reconciliation was obtained. It is 
necessary to study carefully the table of the Amir's 
descent to understand the precise position of affairs 
existing to-day in Afghanistan. 

Even in Afghanistan women wield an influence 
over the affairs of the State, and its domestic policy 
is never without the disturbing effect of a jealous 
woman's interference. Indeed, the sway of the harem 
in Court circles at Kabul is as pronounced as the 
power of the priests — a condition of affairs that is 
no small departure from the old order, when women 
and priests were relegated to the background. Since 
the ascent of the present Amir to the throne there 
have been changes in the army, in the State, and 
in the harem. Three wives have been divorced — 
a woman of the Mohmund tribe; a woman from 
the Helmund country who had only been a few days 
in Kabul, and the daughter of Saad-ud-Din Khan, 

301 



AFGHANISTAN 

Hakim of Herat, the will of the Kabul priests pre- 
vailing upon Habib UUah to enforce the spirit of the 
Koran, which forbids the maintenance of more than 
four wives. The number of concubines is unre- 
stricted and the strength of the royal harem in this 
respect increases constantly, slaves of prepossessing 
appearance — in the service of the queens — being 
chosen. Their end is usually disastrous, and the 
hapless woman who, as a slave, excites the admira- 
tion of the Amir is generally — *' removed. " The 
four wives who have survived this example of priestly 
authority are: (1) the mother of Aman UUah; (2) 
Ulia Jancah (the daughter of Yusef Khan Barakzai, 
the favourite wife until recently — she is the mother 
of a daughter); (3) the daughter of Ibrahim Khan; 
and (4) the mother of Inayat UUah. The child of 
Yusef Khan, Ulia Jancah, is known in the intimate 
circle of the harem as the Hindustani queen. She 
is a woman of education, charm, and accomplish- 
ment. She reads and writes; as a former pupil of an 
Indian seminary she also sings and plays the piano. 
She is no admirer of the Afghan ruler, his people, 
or the State; and it was the chance expression of 
this aversion which brought about her displace- 
ment. 

The woman now filling the position of chief queen 
is the mother of Aman UUah. She has recently given 
birth to a daughter. At a more normal season she 
strikes an interesting contrast with the daughter of 
Yusef Khan. She is a woman of ungovernable pas- 
sions, wilful, domineering, and capricious — an odd 

30^ 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

mixture of the termagant and the shrew. She has 
killed with her own hands three of her slaves who 
had become enceinte through their intercourse with 
the Amir, and she chastises personally her erring 
handmaidens, purposely disfiguring any whose physi- 
cal attractiveness may appeal to their master. Her 
influence over the Amir, however, is limited. She 
sings and dances, but she lacks the subtle craft of 
the Bibi Halima and the gentle dignity of the Hindu- 
stani queen. The four wives of the Amir occupy 
positions which are graduated to a recognised scale. 
The first wife, the mother of Aman Ullah, draws an 
allowance of one lakh of rupees annually: the second 
wife, Ulia Jancah, the Hindustani queen, 80,000 
rupees ; the third wife, the daughter of Ibrahim, 20,- 
000 rupees; and the fourth wife, mother of Inayat 
Ullah, 14,000 rupees a year. The first queen resides 
in the harem serai of the Shah Ara palace where the 
two principal concubines, the mothers of Hayat- 
Ullah Khan^ and Kabir Jan^ and respectively former 
Badakshi and Tokhi slave-girls, are housed. The 
inmates of the harem are busy people, occupying 
themselves in knitting, embroidery, and other femi- 
nine pursuits. The chief wife has a sewing-machine 
and with it makes clothes for her children. The 
Hindustani queen, who is of royal birth, lives in 
great style. She is an ambitious woman and wears 
English dresses, although it should be said that they 
are costumes in the fashion of thirty years ago. 
Each of the Amir's married wives, as distinct from 

1 Bom 1890. * Bom 1893. 

303 



AFGHANISTAN 

the concubines, has a separate house, where she hves 
with her children. 

The Queen Dowager, Bibi Hahma, the mother of 
Sirdar Mohammed Omar Khan, a woman of engag- 
ing personaHty, at one time held a position not with- 
out close resemblance to those filled by the Empress 
Dowager of China and the Lady Om, queen to the 
Emperor of Korea. Her intrigues on behalf of her 
son were over-bold and she is now confined — her 
son, contrary to the energetic character of his mother, 
taking little interest in his situation. The Bibi 
Halima is a woman of considerable beauty, particu- 
larly intelligent, and well informed. She is nearly 
forty-three years of age, and her sympathies are so 
distinctly British that her palace is regarded with as 
much suspicion as the British agency. The law of 
succession to the thrones in Mohammedan countries, 
apart from the exercise of opportunity which secures 
recognition upon the basis that might is right, entails 
the throne upon the son of the first woman whom the 
ruler may have married. The heir may be younger 
than sons born to other women, but, if such a mar- 
riage were the first alliance contracted by his father, 
the succession is seldom set aside. Abdur Rahman, 
however, departed from this custom as the Amirs of 
Afghanistan have power to appoint their successors. 

Habib UUah is the offspring of a Wakhan concu- 
bine named Gulriz with whom the Amir Abdur Rah- 
man consorted. Bibi Halima, also the wife of Abdur 
Rahman, lays claim to it through her direct descent 
from the Amir Dost Mohammed Khan. She is of 

304 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

the Blood Royal indubitably f and, if she were in 
possession of her liberty, she would soon compel her 
son. Sirdar Mohammed Omar Khan, to take the 
field. His chances of success in any rebellion would 
be as great as those enjoyed by his half-brother, 
Nasr UUah Khan, similarly a son of Gulriz and full 
brother to Habib UUah. The disparity in the ages 
of these three sons of Abdur Rahman bears upon 
the present situation — Habib UUah, born 1872, and 
Nasr UUah, born 1874, being many years the senior 
of Mohammed Omar, who was born at Mazar-i- 
Sharif on September 15, 1889. By a strange irony, 
which may yet be not without its effect upon the 
succession to the throne, Inayat UUah, the son of 
Habib UUah and the lawful heir to the throne, was 
born in 1888, his uncle, the son of Bibi Halima and 
Abdur Rahman, being only six months younger. 

Ultimately there is some prospect of a struggle for 
the throne taking place between the uncle and his 
nephew. Each is a young man; but, although time 
may not temper their discretion, it does lie within the 
power of Habib UUah to place the rights of his son 
beyond the reach of this particular rival candidate. 
In any case, and it is of interest to note it, Habib 
UUah has gone out of his way to consolidate the 
position of his eldest son, Inayat UUah. This he did 
by despatching him on the recent mission to India 
and appointing him Governor of Kabul, while Mo- 
hammed Omar shares the restricted liberty of his 
mother, and Hay at UUah, born in 1890, the son of a 
Badakshi slave-girl and half-brother to Inayat UUah, 

305 



AFGHANISTAN 

the heir-apparent, has been appointed to Badakshan 
as Governor of the province. These facts are in 
reahty only eddies showing the way that the current 
runs in Kabul, where from its complex nature the 
position may be described as shifting, delicate, and 
treacherous as any quicksand. Nonetheless the pol- 
icy of the new Amir has been markedly benevolent; 
and his remission of certain taxes, his many acts of 
clemency to Afridi fugitives, and his invitations to 
Afghan refugees of noble or tribal families to return, 
reveal a great change in the controlling forces in 
Afghanistan. It is to us not a matter of gratification 
altogether, for it merely shows that the tribal leaders 
of noble families have lost their influence, that they 
can no more sway factions or parties in the popula- 
tion, and that power in Afghanistan is being gradually 
centralised around the Amir in a circle of officials 
which is controlled by the mullahs. The invitation 
to the refugees to come back is not out of any gener- 
osity of feeling; it arises from pride — and a desire to 
appear to be indulgent to those who are helpless and 
who are now impotent. In fact it is political charity, 
intended to spread the good name of the new ruler 
of Afghanistan in India, and to impress the British 
Government. It is a certain indication too, that, 
in the event of complications in the future with 
Afghanistan, the assistance of dissatisfied Sirdars 
will be of little value, for, in a few years if not very 
soon, the only elements will be the officials, the 
bureaucracy, and the mullahs. At the same time 
the power of the Amir himself has been reduced and 

306 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

transferred to the officials. The measures of Abdur 
Rahman prepared the way for this change. He 
either killed or frightened out of Afghanistan every 
rival or every individual likely to acquire influence. 
His declaration and boast was that his God-granted 
Government ruled for the benefit of the people and 
the glory of religion, that he had no object but the 
good of the country and no secrets from the people 
as he had no interests but theirs to serve. There is 
not amongst any class of Afghans the feeling of rev- 
erence for the throne which exists in Turkey or 
Persia. The Amir is the highest official of a tribe 
that has seized power; and Afghanistan is gradu- 
ally evolving a bureaucratic Government controlled 
by priestly influence, whose policy will not always 
be measured by the interests of the country, but 
by whatever interpretations of the "Sheriat" some 
powerful mullah may conjure up. 

Meanwhile Afghanistan is acknowledged to be an 
independent Government within certain Umitations. 
No Power has any right to interfere in its adminis- 
tration, although it is obvious that certain contin- 
gencies might alter its position in this respect. In 
the meantime the Government of Afghanistan owes 
no national debt nor any war indemnity. The Amir 
is not hampered by any capitulations with foreign 
Governments; he has no foreign ambassadors in his 
capital — although this is more a grievance than a 
pleasure to him, since he is anxious to vaunt his 
independence before the Courts of Europe. 

The relations between Great Britain and Afghani- 

307 



AFGHANISTAN 

stan as they stand to-day are fixed by treaties. The 
British Government acknowledges the independence 
of Afghanistan; it accepts responsibihty for its safety 
and integrity against unprovoked aggressions, so long 
as the Amir does not act against the advice of the 
British Government in matters affecting his rela- 
tions with other countries. Great Britain pays the 
Amir eighteen lakhs of rupees as an annual subsidy 
by virtue of Sir Mortimer Durand's treaty with the 
Amir Abdur Rahman, dated 1893, and confirmed by 
Sir Louis Dane with the Amir Habib Ullah, 1904- 
1905; in addition to which she permits Afghanistan 
to import without restriction supplies of war mate- 
rials and to maintain a political agent at the Court 
of the Viceroy of India. 

In return for this understanding with the Imperial 
Government, the Amir is bound by his word and 
treaties to be the friend and ally of Great Britain; 
he pledges himself not to communicate with any for- 
eign Power without consulting with the Indian Gov- 
ernment, and to accept at Kabul a British agent, 
who must always be a Mohammedan subject and 
provided solely with a native staff. 

The British agent at Kabul holds an absolutely 
thankless position. He is shunned of necessity by 
Europeans in order to avoid giving rise to political 
suspicions, and he may see the Amir only in the 
public Durbars or by special appointment. To all 
intents and purposes he is a prisoner; since, although 
received in Durbar, he does not visit any one and 
seldom ventures into the street. If a European were 

308 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

seen speaking to the British agent, or to any one 
attached to his staff, he would certainly be packed 
off at once to the frontier. No Afghan is allowed to 
enter the British agency and no Englishman has 
visited the British agent, since Sir Salter Pyne left 
Kabul. Even to be found near the building causes 
suspicion, as several Afghans have discovered. More- 
over, since in many cases punishment has not ended 
merely with imprisonment, it has become an imwrit- 
ten law to avoid the British agent and his entourage 
at any cost. 

The British political agents at Kabul are appointed 
by the Indian Foreign Office, who forward to the 
Amir for his approval the names of a few Moham- 
medan officials. One of these candidates is selected, 
the term of office being from three to five years. 
Upon returning to India he is usually rewarded 
with the title of Nawab. The agency staff consists 
of two secretaries, one hospital assistant, and about 
two or three dozen private servants and body-guard, 
all of which must be natives of India. The British 
agent attends the public audiences of the Amir; 
but, if he has any letters or communications from 
the British Government to convey to the Amir, he 
must ask for an appointment to deliver them. 

If there are any legal disputes or claims between 
members of the staff of the British agent, both plain- 
tiff and defendant are referred by him to the Courts 
of Justice in India. If the British agent or any 
member of his staff has a dispute with the Afghan 
subjects of the Amir, such cases are usually decided 

309 



AFGHANISTAN 

in the Courts of Kabul, under the law of that coun- 
try. Complications of a very serious political char- 
acter are invariably referred to the Governments of 
India and Afghanistan for arrangement between 
themselves. 

The British agent puts his diary and also the pri- 
vate letters of the whole of his staff into one package, 
which he hands to the Amir's Postmaster-General 
at Kabul, taking a receipt for their dehvery under 
seal; from the Amir's post-office they are sent down 
to Peshwar, where the Amir's postmaster is given a 
discharge for their surrender to the political agent at 
Peshawar. In the same manner the packages of 
letters, which are delivered by the British political 
agent at Peshawar to the Amir's postmaster at that 
place, are forwarded to the British agent at Kabul 
by the Amir's Postmaster-General, who also takes a 
voucher for their safe and proper condition. The 
services and duties of the Amir's political agent with 
the Viceroy of India, who, together with his staff, is 
a Mohammedan subject of the Amir, are nearly the 
same as those of the British agent at Kabul, except 
that the term and time of his office is not limited 
and depends entirely on the pleasure of the Amir. 
Besides the political agent the Amir has various 
commercial agents in India as well as in England, 
the most important of these having been Sir Acquin 
Martin, Mr. T. B. Guthrie, and Mr. E. T. Pack. 
Each of these industrious and excellent servants of 
the Amir has suffered the loss of large sums of 
money through a very pronounced defect in the 

310 



PALACES AND COURT LIFE 

Amirs of Afghanistan, which causes them to forget 
their obhgations so long as there is a frontier lying 
between the Government of Kabul and those with 
whom its debts have been contracted. Represen- 
tations remain unanswered and, apparently, no 
authority exists which can make the Amir of Af- 
ghanistan redeem his liabilities, although an obvious 
course awaits if the Government of India would 
assent to the attachment of the subsidy. 



311 



CHAPTER XVIII 

KABUL AND ITS BAZAARS 

THE bazaars of Kabul are quite unworthy of the 
capital, but radical improvement in their 
character could only be made by a complete 
reconstruction of the city. Here and there new ones 
have been built, Habib UUah himself having erected 
several at his own expense, but the principle of con- 
struction, adopted at the time of the building of the 
city, is the great stumbling-block to any extensive 
alterations. The narrowness of the streets, many of 
which are mere alleys, gives rise to perpetual conges- 
tion; while, in consequence of their contracted char- 
acter, they are always dirty and overloaded with the 
refuse of the houses, more particularly in winter 
when they are blocked with the snow, which is swept 
from the roofs. Of the several bazaars of the city, 
the three principal, running irregularly parallel to 
each other, are the Shor Bazaar, the Erg Bazaar, and 
the Darwaza Lahori Bazaar. The former extends 
east and west from the Bala Hissar to the Ziarat 
Baba Khudi, a distance of little more than three- 
quarters of a mile. The latter, stretching from the 
Darwaza Lahori, passes through the centre of the 
wood market and terminates at the New Bridge. 

312 



KABUL AND ITS BAZAARS 

The Erg Bazaar crosses the town and communicates 
with the workshops. The western portion of the 
Darwaza Lahori Bazaar was the site of the Char 
Chata, at one time undoubtedly the most magnifi- 
cent bazaar in Afghanistan. The structure, ascribed 
to AH Mardan Khan, whose name is immortal in 
these countries, was handsomely laid out and highly 
embellished with paintings. Four covered arcades, 
of equal length and dimensions, were separated from 
each other by open squares, originally provided with 
wells and fountains. The entire fabric was destroyed 
in October, 1842, by General Pollock, as retribution 
for the murder of Sir William Macnaghten and the 
indignities offered to his remains. 

The Nakush Bazaar, or cattle market, is situated 
north of the Kabul River and west of the Pul-i- 
Kishti in the Indarabi quarter. The Mandi Kalan 
and the Mandi Shahzada, the chief grain bazaars, lie 
in the Tandur Sazi quarter, between the Shor Bazaar 
and the Darwaza Lahori. The Shikarpuri quarter, 
adjoining the Pul-i-Kishti on the right bank of the 
river, is the fruit market. Here are collected the 
various fruits for which the capital of Afghanistan 
is so famous, the exhibition of grapes, apples, apri- 
cots, and pears becoming at once the glory of the 
bazaars. Melons are missing from this bazaar, as 
this important branch of the fruit trade of Afghani- 
stan is conducted in the Mandi Kalan. Near to the 
fruit bazaar are the wood and charcoal markets, each 
section of trade possessing its particular locality and 
its special market-place. 

313 



AFGHANISTAN 

In this way there is a shoe bazaar, a meat mar- 
ket, a vegetable market, a copper bazaar, silk bazaar, 
and certain central marts where arms, tobacco, furs, 
medicines, and cloth are sold. In the boot bazaar 
there are a number of Anglo-Indian importations 
and no less a quantity from Russia. The native 
shoes are made from leather which is manufactured 
in Kabul at the Amir's factory — articles of local 
manufacture being put up as a rule upon the premises 
where they are sold. The more important merchants 
possess accommodation beneath their shops, where 
craftsmen, whose special industry is allied with the 
business in the premises above them, are employed. 
These underground rooms are so small that the men 
at work are compelled to crouch over their knees, 
while customers, who bring articles for repair, sit in 
the street. In the copper bazaar, where domestic 
utensils are to be found, there is the ceaseless tapping 
of countless hammers, as the men, assisted by boys 
who ply the bellows or feed the furnace with char- 
coal, wield their tools upon long-necked vases, hub- 
ble-bubbles, kettles, cooking pots, water-bottles with 
delicate handles and graceful spouts, stoves, plates, 
and copper boxes of all shapes and sizes. These 
workers in metals, whether they are the ironmongers 
or silversmiths, smelters of copper, or the moulders 
of brass, are worthy of their hire, and bring to their 
labours an extraordinary patience and exactitude. 
The silversmiths are, perhaps, the most wonderful 
craftsmen, although the men who trace fantastic 
designs upon metal vessels with blunt instruments 

314 



KABUL AND ITS BAZAARS 

are not to be despised. From early morning, with- 
out cessation until the heat of the mid-day hours 
makes work impossible, they bend over their tasks, 
actively working their pliers, tweezers, and hammers 
as they fashion ear-rings, bracelets, or graven ewers. 
The business, transacted at these stalls, seems out 
of proportion with the labour involved, as sales are 
arranged between the merchant and his customers 
only after many days of protracted dealing. 

The method of barter is always the same in the 
East. Customers sit down by the side of the mer- 
chant, examining and asking the value of his goods, 
praising certain pieces, and decrying others, until con- 
versation has worked round to the article which it is 
desired to buy. Ten times the price will be asked at 
first, perhaps haggled over with all sincerity, until, as 
the would-be purchaser rises to leave, a few rupees 
will be knocked off the figure which the vendor has 
been demanding. It is then prudent to leave, return- 
ing some other day to begin over again. The hours 
spent in an Oriental bazaar are of such supreme 
interest that they are sacrificed very willingly and 
are not easily forgotten. The setting of the scene is 
romantic, while the life of the city passes in endless, 
kaleidoscopic changes of character, of costume, and 
of men and beasts. It is never wise to hurry transac- 
tions conducted amid such environment. Time is 
of no value to the merchant, who regards the over- 
tures with indifference. He may hope that ulti- 
mately his customer will become his patron, but he 
would never show his satisfaction nor lose an oppor- 

315 



AFGHANISTAN 

tunity to drive a haggling bargain. Around the 
shops there are always groups of idle but profoundly 
interested spectators. Some one ascertains the price 
the worker is paid; another inquires of the merchant 
the amount he will receive for it; and, in the hope 
of extracting a commission from the proprietor of 
the shop or his purchaser, all are eager to advise the 
customer upon the merits of the article he may have 
chosen or the sum he may have offered. 

In the silk and cotton bazaar there is equally the 
press and bustle of an active trade, a continuous 
passing of gaily decked customers and busy traders 
— from India with caravans of silk, from Turkestan 
with bales of printed cottons, plain calicoes, and 
other articles of Russian manufacture, merchants 
and itinerant traders from the most distant parts of 
Afghanistan, from Persia, and from Kashgar. There 
is, too, a wonderful blaze of colour in the silk stalls, 
while the display of goods in the cotton shops reveals 
a various assortment of English clothing — cotton 
and merino vests, men's shirts, drawers, and socks — 
and a variety of coloured waistbands, a weird col- 
lection of ties, and some really startling handkerchiefs 
from India. These stalls, whether their effects are 
imported from India or from Turkestan, are mostly in 
the keeping of Hindoos, who transact a very profit- 
able business with their Afghan masters. Never- 
theless, long intercourse with Afghanistan has quite 
crushed the Hindoo, obliterating all trace of his orig- 
inal individuality, and emphasising his inborn humil- 
ity and lack of spirit. In Kabul the Hindoos pay 

316 



KABUL AND ITS BAZAARS 

a poll-tax and wear turbans, which may be only red 
or yellow — a similar rule prevailing in Kandahar. 
Formerly they affected the red, the blue lungi, 
which is prohibited to them, being favoured by the 
Afghans. Similar indications of prosperity may be 
found in the skin bazaar, where the furriers are en- 
gaged in making the fur coats for which Kabul has 
become famous. Here there are several kinds of 
expensive furs such as marten, a variety of red fox, 
squirrel, wild cat, and astrakhan. Over the latter fur 
the Amir exercises a monopoly. The cheaper kinds 
are put to numerous purposes, figuring as lining for 
cloaks, hats, and high boots of the Russian and Tur- 
koman pattern. Many of the fur caps are costly in 
production and elaborate in design. Cut from a 
piece of velvet, trimmed with fur and heavily em- 
broidered with gold thread from Benares, they are 
sold in the Kabul bazaars only to the richest classes, 
becoming, as a rule, a finishing touch to a costume 
which, on the score of colour effect, will leave little 
to be desired. 



317 



INDEX 



Abdur Rahman, Amir of Afghanistan, 
his new administration of govern- 
ment, 223; his character, 298; his 
rule, 306. 

Administration of government in the 
provinces, 240-242. 

Administration of Kunduz given to 
Russia and Badakshan, 208. 

Afghan army, organisation of, 133, 
227, 262-282; character of the exist- 
ing forces of, 277, 278. 

Afghan race, 219, 222. 

Afghan soldier, bearing of the, 144, 
263. 

Afghan Tiu-kestan. See Turkestan. 

Afghanistan, provinces and races, 198- 
222. 

Agriculture, 14, 21, 23, 29, 94, 133, 
159, 180, 199 ,216, 256, 287. 

Amir, the, his power, 230-233, 235. 

Amu Daria, historical river, 75-100. 

Andkhui, town of, 216. 

Anglo-Russian Commission, 130. 

Animals. See Cattle. See also Game. 

Appeal, rule of, 233. 

Apples of Ghazni, 287. 

Arboriculture, 67, 70. 

Archaeology, 54. 

Ark, the, ancient citadel of Herat, 
142. 

Ark-i-nao, new citadel of Herat, 142. 

Army, the, of Afghanistan, 262-282; 
its improvement by Abdur Rahman, 
271-274; its decay after his death, 
276. 



Army wages, 264, 267, 272. 

Artillery, 268. 

Artisans and craftsmen, 314. 

Badakshan, province, boimdaries, 
200; incorporated with Turkestan, 
207. 

Bakwa plain, tradition of, 155. 

Bala Hissar, ancient palace of, 291. 

Bala Murghab, fortress of, 132. 

Balkh, territory of, its decline, 211. 

Banks in Afghanistan, 65, 181. 

Barter, method of, in the East, 315. 

Baths, public, 161. 

Bazaars. See Trades and shops. 

Bazaars of Kabul, 312-317. 

Beetroot, cultivation of, 21. 

Beloochi, tribe of, 185, 186. 

Bibi Halima, mother of Habib Ullah, 
her refusal of allowance and conse- 
quent banishment from the palace, 
300, 301; her position at court, 304. 

Black Well, the, 291. 

Board of Commerce, 242. 

Boats and steamers, 90, 97. 

Bokhara, boundaries of, etc., 25-35; 
popxilation of, 65. 

Border-line between Russian and 
Afghan frontier, 130. 

Boundaries of Afghanistan, arbitra- 
tion, 174-178, 192. 

Bridges, 60, 68, 73, 107. 

British Consulate in Seistan, 181. 

British political agents in Afghanistan, 
their position and duties, 308-310. 



319 



INDEX 



British-Afghan relations, 307. 
Buildings, public. See Public works. 

Cabinet, constituency of, 230. 

Camels, revised schedule of rates for 
hire of, 194. 

Campbell, Lieutenant, his influence 
over Abdur Rahman, 264; his ref- 
ormation of the army, 265; his 
death, 266. 

Capital of Seistan divided, 180. 

Caravan route, Indo-Perso, 191-194. 

Cases, hearing of, by the Amir, 232. 

Caste, indications of, 211. 

Cattle, 14, 18, 29, 168, 180, 201. 

Cavalry, 268. 

Chernaieff, General, anecdote about, 
56. 

Chiefs of tribes suppressed by Abdur 
Rahman, 224. 

Church, restrained by Abdur Rah- 
man, 224. 

Civil Departments of Afghanistan, 
228. 

Civil War of 1863-1869, 223. 

Climate of Afghanistan, 26, 27, 42, 
61, 62, 69, 169, 200, 218, 287. 

Coins of Afghanistan, 244. 

Consulates, foreign, in Afghanistan 
and Persia, 181, 182. 

Corruption in public office, 226. 

Costume, 40, 165, 185, 260, 287, 316, 
317. 

Cotton industry, 29, 62, 63, 64, 
72. 

Court life at Afghanistan, 299-305. 

Court of First Instance, 233. 

Criminal Law, 234. 

Crops grown in Afghanistan, 257. 

Currency re-established in Afghan- 
istan, 243, 244. 

Customs Bureau, established at Koh- 
i-Malik-i-Siah, 194. 



Dakwaza Lahori Bazaar, 313. 

Decline of Herat, 148. 

Dil Khusha Palace now in process of 

construction, 291. 
Diseases, 46, 115, 125, 170, 189, 196. 
Districts, division of, in Kandahar, 

163. 
Divorce in Afghanistan, 241, 301. 
Dress. See Costume. 
Duties of provincial officers, 240. 
Dyes, sale of, 210. 

Ecclesiastical Court, 241. 
Economic position of Afghanistan 

under Habib Ullah, 249. 
Erg, palace of the, 292-296. 
Exports and imports, 17, 63, 69, 151, 

166, 249-255. 

Farah, town of, its decline, 153. 

Farming in Afghanistan, 256. 

Ferries, 98-100, 153. 

Fishing industry, 17. 

Food of the Afghans, 256, 257. 

Forts, lack of, in Afghanistan, 281. 

Fruit farming in Afghanistan, 256, 

287; fruit market, 313. 
Furniture at Erg Palace, 296. 
Furs famous in Kabul, 317. 

Game in Afghanistan, 112. 

Game in Persia, 172. 

General Assembly, 229. 

Ghazni, capital city, 284. 

Girishk, fort of, 157, 158. 

Goldsmid Mission, 174. 

Government of Afghanistan, 223-246; 

acknowledged to be independent, 

307. 
Grain, cultivation of 18, 159, 199, 202, 

257, 287. 
Gunpowder, manufacture of, 154. 
Guthrie, Mr. T. B., 310. 



S20 



INDEX 



Habib Ullah, Amir of Afghanistan, 
his indifference to military matters, 
275; promise of a change in his 
attitude, 277, 279; his appearance 
and manner, 297; his domestic 
situation, 299-301; his wives, 301; 
his birth, 304; his political policy, 
306. 

Hamun Lake, a phenomenon, 172. 

Harem, its power in Court circles, 301; 
description of the present one, 302, 
303. 

Helmund River, 155-157, 180. 

Herat, province of, 137-149; boun- 
daries, 203; divisions, 204. 

Herat, city of, fortifications of, 138- 
143. 

Herati, the, as soldiers, 143. 

Hills of Quetta, 184. 

Hindoo merchants, 165. 

Hindoos as money-lenders, 211. 

Horses, dealing in, 148, 167. 

Hospitals. See Public works. 

Hostages, 237. 

Houses, 35, 37, 47, 146, 162, 210, 286. 

Iletsk salt mines, 13. 

Imports. See Exports. 

Industries of Afghanistan, 29, 62, 72, 

97, 148, 154, 201, 256, 258-261, 287, 

314. 
Infantry, 269. 

Irregular Afghan Horse, the, 269. 
Irrigation, 26, 55, 94, 122, 128, 135, 

179, 216. 

Kabul, province of, boundaries of, 
198; description and history of, 288. 

Kagan, station of, 64. 

Kandahar, city of, 159-170; boun- 
daries, 205. 

Kelat-i-Ghilzai, port of, 283. 

Key of India, the, 137. 



Khanabad, town of, 209. 
Khulm, decay of, 208. 
Kotwal, the, his power, 241. 
Kimduz, districts of, 207. 
Kushk VaUey, 127. 
Kushkinski Post, 110-114. 

Labour of women, 186. 
Lakes of Afghanistan, 76, 172. 
Laws, method of making changes in, 

230. 
Laws of Afghanistan, 231, 234. 
Libraries, 43. 
Live stock raising, 14, 18, 29, 168, 180, 

199, 201, 216. 
Loans to traders from Kabul Treasury, 

246. 

Macnaghten, Sir William, 313. 

Maimana, province of, 216. 

Malaria, 46, 58, 103, 106, 109, 114. 

Manners and customs, 32, 54, 113, 
161, 165, 199, 213, 296. 

Manufacture of sheepskin coats, 259. 

Martin, Sir Acquin, 310. 

Maruchak, fortress of, 131. 

McMahon, Major, his appointment 
as British Commissioner on the de- 
marcation of Perso-Afghan boun- 
dary, 175. 

Men, dress of. See Costume. 

Merchants in Kandahar, 164-166. 

Merv, district of, 46-53, 74. 

Military establishments at Balkh, 214. 

Military roads opened up by Abdur 
Rahman, 280, 283. 

Militia, 29, 43, 68, 74, 105, 110, 129, 
132, 143, 158, 183, 216, 227. 

Miller, Mr., 174. 

Mmerals, 258. 

Mines in Afghanistan, 13, 201, 257. 

Mint in Kabul, 243, 244. 

Mission of 1872, 174. 



321 



INDEX 



Money-lenders, 211. 

Monuments, 108. 

Mother of Cities, the, 211. 

Murghab Imperial Estate, 72. 

Murghab River, 122-130. 

Mm-ghab VaUey, 122-136. 

Murghab Valley Railway, its con- 
struction, 101-104; its route, 104- 
114. 

Nasb UliiAH Khan, brother of Habib 

Ullah, aspires to the throne, 299. 
Navigation of the Oxus, 89-92, 94, 98. 
Northern Border, the, 75-100. 
Nushki, prosperity of, 187. 

Oases, 64, 133, 134, 137. 

Omar Sar, brother of Habib Ullah, 

removed from office and made a 

prisoner, 300. 
Ordnance factories, erection of, 274. 
Orenburg-Tashkent Railway, 1-24. 
Oxus. See Amxxr Daria. 

Pack, Mr. E. T., 310. 
Palaces, 147, 291-297. 
Passenger rates on the Oxus, 95. 
Peace between Russia and Turkestan, 

63. 
Pendjeh oasis as an agricultural 

colony, 133. 
Persian railway projected by Russia, 

119-121. 
Perso-Afghan relations, 174-178. 
Personal freedom checked in Afghan- 
istan, 225, 237. 
Plague epidemic in 1906, 196. 
Police. See Kotwal. 
Population of Asiatic Russia, 19, 21, 

22, 27, 37, 44, 65, 163, 172, 189, 210. 

215. 217. 
Power of Russia in Apia, 1-4, 49-63, 

101, 145. 



Prisoners, treatment of, 235. 

Public works, 43, 58, 61, 73, 74, 108. 

Ill, 147. 
Punishments of criminals, 236-240. 

Races. See Tribes. 

Railway communication in Central 

Asia now proposed by Russia, 101, 

117, 118. 
Railway plants, 11, 73, 102. 
Railways in Seistan, construction of, 

190. 
Records, government, system of, 227. 
Registan market-place, 38. 
Religious influence upon the govern- 
ment, 224. 
Religious observance, offences against, 

239. 
Revenue, sources of, 244, 245. 
Revenue Office of Afghanistan, 242. 
Rivers of Afghanistan, 66, 74, 75-100, 

122, 137, 152, 155. 
Ruby mines, 201. 
Russia, power of, in Asia, 1-4, 49-53, 

101, 145. 
Russian commodities, 253. 
Russian Consulate in Seistan, 182. 
Russian Imperial Bank, 65. 
Russian manufactures, importation 

of, into Afghanistan, 152. 
Russo-Afghan relations. 111, 130, 144, 

174. 
Russo-British relaticms on the frontier, 

116, 174. 
Russo-Chinese Bank, 65. 

Sabzawar district, fertility of, 150; 

fortification of, 152. 
Salt mines, 13, 201. 
Samarkand, province of, 36, 41. 
Sangalak River, 215. 
Sanitary conditions, 146. 
Saxaoul, desert shrub, 71. 



322 




INDEX 



Seistan, district of, 171-197. 

Shah Ara Palace, 297. 

Shops. See Trades and shops. 

Silk, production of, 258. 

Sirdar Mohammed Omar Khan, son 
of Bibi Halima, his right to the 
throne, 305. 

Sirdars, power of, 223. 

Slavery in Afghanistan, 168. 

Slee, Mr., 191. 

Spies of the Amir, 238. 

Streets of Herat, 146. 

Streets of Kandahar, 162. 

Succession to the throne, departure 
from usual custom by Abdur Rah- 
man, 304. 

Summer resort of Mazar-i-Sharif, 214. 

Supreme Council, 229. 

Tashkent, district of, 23, 42^5. 
Tashkurgan, great trade mart, 209. 
Taxation in Seistan, 180. 
Taxes on various crafts and trades, 

167, 217, 245. 
Tomb of Ahmed Shah Durani, 161. 
Tomb of Hazrat Ali, veneration of, 

213. 
Torture, instrument of, 234. 
Trade with Afghanistan, obstacles 

against, 247, 248. 
Trade mart of Afghan-Tiu-kestan, 209. 
Trades and shops, 32, 40, 48, 62, 65, 

97, 105, 108, 127, 148, 151, 189, 210, 

287. 



Tradition, Afghan, concerning Bakwa, 

155. 
Trans-Caspian line, 101. 
Travel along the Russian border, 

84. 
Treasury, State, of Afghanistan, 

228. 
Treaties between Great Britain and 

Afghanistan, 307, 308. 
Tribes of Afghanistan, 219-222. 
Turkestan, population and trade, 22; 

boundaries, 202; incorporated with 

Badakshan, 207. 

Uniforms of the Afghan army, 268. 

Wakhan, alpine territory, 201. 
Water supply, 31, 46, 66, 73, 93, 112, 

151, 153, 193. 
Weapons of defence, 263, 267, 273, 

278; prices of, 282. 
Weight and measure in Afghanistan, 

261. 
Western Border, the, 137-149. 
Windmills in Husseinabad, 181. 
Women, dress of. See Costume. 
Women, manners and customs of, 32, 

165, 185, 301. 
Woodside, Mr., 190. 

Young, Mr., 191, 
Yulatan oasis, 134. 

Zerafshan River, 66. 



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